Surprisingly, this one came from a divided panel of the 3rd Circuit, and not the 9th:
The equal protection clause does not bar peremptory challenges of potential jurors who evince a "heightened" religious involvement that might make them less likely to convict, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Oct. 17.
But the split court did not decide whether a strike based on religious affiliation alone is constitutional, since the Supreme Court has not addressed the issue and there is no consensus among the circuits. "Even assuming that the exercise of a peremptory strike on the basis of religious affiliation is unconstitutional, the exercise of a strike based on religious beliefs is not," Circuit Judge Julio Fuentes wrote in U.S. v. DeJesus.
You can read the rest of the article from the New Jersey Law Journal here, or the court's opinion here. Prediction? Scalia will have a field day with this one.