Jews in Christian America The Pursuit of Religious Equality

by Cohen, Naomi W.

• ISBN13: 9780195065374
• ISBN10: 0195065379
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-09-03
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

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