Biblical References in Constitutional or Political Argument

Justice Jackson's Youngstown concurrence refers to Pharaoh's dreams that Joseph was asked to interpret. There was no citation. Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural quoted the King James Bible. John Bingham said that the Equal Protection Clause embodied the Golden Rule. Martin Luther King, Jr. often quoted Scripture, including in the "I Have a Dream Speech."

Today you wonder if such references (outside of a case that involves religious expression or conduct) would be acceptable. First, would people even understand those references? The speakers or writers that I just listed could safely assume that the audience would know a Biblical quote or idea. It's harder to make that assumption now. Second, would people think that such expressions have a place in legal reasoning on secular topics? Not everyone would agree on that, of course. But it's hard to imagine a President delivering a speech like Lincoln's Second Inaugural today.