Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience

For the first time, Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience makes available critical documents which have shaped debate over religion and state issues throughout the course of American Jewish history. Following a comprehensive historical introduction, Professors Jonathan D. Sarna and David G. Dalin present a wide range of primary source materials which articulate the different positions held within the American Jewish community on numerous past and present church-state issues, including the constitutionality of former state Sunday Laws, or "blue laws"; whether or not Orthodox Jews serving in the military should be permitted to wear yarmulkes while in uniform; whether Jewish prisoners have a right to kosher food; whether prayer, nonsectarian or otherwise, should have any role in public schools; whether menorahs should be displayed alongside Christian symbols such as creches during the Christmas season; or whether all types of religious symbols should be banned from public arenas. The chapters proceed chronologically, beginning with the colonial period and progressing through the 1990s, and give readers a clear sense of the changes which have occurred over the years. In Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience, Professors Sarna and Dalin recover divergent voices and opinions from the American Jewish community, and their research reveals that the community has never been limited to a single voice on issues of religion and state but has instead accommodated a rich variety of outlooks and positions. By gathering these individual voices into one comprehensive sourcebook, Sarna and Dalin offer a unique and well-documented look at a major aspect of the experience ofbeing Jewish in America.