Jews in Christian America: The Pursuit of Religious Equality / Edition 1

by Naomi W. Cohen

Overview

Separation of church and state has become a veritable creed in the American Jewish community. Focusing on the way in which Jewish actions have contributed to the development of separation, this book examines how American Jews have contended with living in a fundamentally Christian state. In the first part, Cohen covers this history hronologically from colonial times to the Second World War. Throughout this period, Jewish community leaders focused on legislation and judicial opinions that in any way bespoke established Christianity. They were principally concerned with test oaths, Sunday laws, religion in public schools, and Christianity in federal treaties—issues that in one form or another have lasted well into the twentieth century. Dealing with the period after World War II, the second part of the book consists of an in-depth analysis of Jewish participation in, and responses to, litigation on such issues as released time, prayer and bible readings in public schools, Sunday laws, and religious decorations in public places. Cohen also considers how separationism evoked differences of opinion among Jews and how it affected Jewish-Christian relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195065374
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/03/1992
Series:	Studies in Jewish History
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	6.44(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.23(d)

Table of Contents

	Introduction	3
Part I
1.	From Toleration to Freedom	11
2.	Separationism Takes Root	37
3.	The Christian Agenda	65
4.	Separationism Is Moderated	93
Part II	Overview: 1945-1965	123
5.	Tests of Released Time	131
6.	The Case of the Innocuous Prayer	159
7.	Scripture in the Schools	187
8.	Sabbaths and Symbols	214
	Afterword	240
	Notes	247
	Index	293

Editorial Reviews

"In the end this book stands on its own. It finally gives American Jewish historiography a picture of its varied legal and institutional response to being 'strangers in the land'. In a host nation that above all else reveres the law, that story is indispensable for understanding the American Jewish experience."—American Historical Review

"A first-rate study that deserves a careful reading by all who are interested in the subtle ways American life has favored Protestantism and in the multifaceted struggle to translate the ideal of religious equality from theory into practice."—History: Reviews of New Books

"A well-written and thoroughly documented book, and it has much to contribute not only to Jewish studies in America but to 19th- and 20th-century American history and minority studies in the US."—CHOICE

"In this meticulously documented work, Naomi W. Cohen provides much relevant information on the varied attitudes and roles of Jews in America's turmoiled search for genuine religious freedom from colonial times to the mid-1960s, largely through a careful historical examination and interpretation of vast and complex archival and periodical sources. Her work is a brilliant and distinctive contribution, valuable not only for those concerned with the history of church-state, religion-government, and interfaith relations in America, but also for those seeking a fuller understanding in depth of many controversial issues now before Supreme, state, and local courts."—Robert T. Handy, Union Theological Seminary

"Jews in Christian America is an exceptionally important, well-researched, and well-written book that will make a valuable contribution to American Jewish history and to the study of American religion generally."—Jonathan Sarna, Brandeis University

"Once again, Naomi Cohen has astutely explored the American Jewish historical experience. Jews in Christian America is a comprehensive analysis of the enduring tension between religious identity and civic obligation."—Jerold Auerbach, Wellesley College

"Naomi Cohen, the premier historian of American Jewish history today, once again displays her talent and ability to synthesize an aspect of American Jewish history in a new way. She is the first historian to deal with the full scope of how American Jews dealt with the Christian state from colonial days to the present."—Leonard Dinnerstein, University of Arizona

"All who are concerned with the identity-constructing role church-state issues play in American Jewish life will want to consult this important text."—Jewish Political Studies Review

"Meticulously researched....[T]he standard historical study of the Jewish quest for religious freedom and equality in Christian America."—First Things

"Cohen's unearthing of previously unused archival sources and skillful rendering of the historical nexus and language in which cases were argued makes the work outstanding."—The American Journal of Legal History

"Cohen's investigation is especially valuable....An excellent book."—Review in American History

From the Publisher