Jews and the American Public Square
Debating Religion and Republic
Alan Mittleman editor Jonathan D Sarna editor Robert Licht editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield
Published:27th Aug '02
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Jews and the American Public Square is a study of how Jews have grappled with the presence of religion, both their own and others, in American public life. It surveys historical Jewish approaches to church-state relations and analyzes Jewish responses to the religion clauses of the First Amendment. The book also explores how the contemporary sociological and political characteristics of American Jews bear on their understanding of the public dimensions of American religion. In addition to a descriptive and analytic approach. the volume is also critical and polemical. Its contributors attack and defend prevailing views, raise critical questions about the political and intellectual positions favored by American Jews, and propose new syntheses. This book captures the current mood of the Jewish community: both committed to the separation of church and state and perplexed about its scope and application. It provides the necessary background for a principled reconsideration of the problem of religion in the public square.
A long-overdue look at the role played by American Jewry in our civic life. The essays in this expertly edited volume are informative, provocative, and skillfully written. Highly recommended. -- Jean Bethke Elshtain, The Laura Spelman Rockeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics, University of Chicago; author of Just War Against Terror
Both books [Jewish Polity and American Civil Society and Jews and the American Public Square both edited by Alan Mittelman, Jonathan D. Sarna, and Robert Licht] furnish the reader with a great deal of useful information about Jews in America, while the essays included in the books are characterized by competence and earnestness throughout. * The Weekly Standard *
Both books [Jewish Polity and American Civil Society and Jews and the American Public Square both edited by Alan Mittelman, Jonathan D. Sarna, and Robert Licht] will be of interest to students of American Judaism. * First Things *
This thoughtful and timely set of essays is sure to provoke—and enrich—debate on the roles of Jews and Judaism in American public life. The discussion is on a high level throughout, the authors well attuned to recent controversies. An unusually worthwhile collection. -- Arnold M. Eisen, Stanford University
ISBN: 9780742521247
Dimensions: 227mm x 149mm x 21mm
Weight: 499g
392 pages