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.

Jewish Polity and American Civil Society is a study of the civic and political engagements of American Jews as mediated by their communal and denominational institutions. The book explores how the various branches of the organized Jewish community seek to influence public affairs. Over the course of the last century, Jewish agencies and religious movements have tried to shape public debate and public policy on such issues as civil rights, church-state relations, and American foreign policy. The book sets the history of Jewish engagement in these areas into historical context; analyzes the motives, strategies, and tactics of various Jewish groups, and evaluates their successes and failures. The book also explores the underlying idea the public philosophy that informs American Jews' understanding of civic and political engagement.

How and why should hope play a key role in a twenty-first century democratic politics?
Alan Mittleman offers a philosophical exploration of the theme, contending that a modern construction of hope as an emotion is deficient. He revives the medieval understanding of hope as a virtue, reconstructing this in a contemporary philosophical idiom. In this framework, hope is less a spontaneous reaction than it is a choice against despair; a decision to live with confidence and expectation, based on a rational assessment of possibility and a faith in the underlying goodness of life.
In cultures shaped by biblical teaching, hope is thought praiseworthy. Mittleman explores the religious origins of the concept of hope in the Hebrew Scriptures, New Testament, rabbinic literature and Augustine. He traces the roots of both the praise of hope, in Jewish and Christian thought, and the criticism of hope in Greco-Roman thought and in the tradition of philosophical pessimism. Arguing on behalf of a straightened, sober form of hope, he relates hope-as-a-virtue to the tasks of democratic citizenship. Without diminishing the wisdom found in tragedy, a strong argument emerges in favour of hope as a way of taking responsibility for the world. Drawing on insights from scriptural and classical texts, philosophers, and theologians - ancient and modern, Mittleman builds a compelling case for placing hope at the centre of democratic political systems.

Uneasy Allies? offers a careful study of the cultural distance between Jews and Evangelicals, two groups that have been largely estranged from one another. While in the past, American Jews have been wary of accepting the support of would-be Evangelical Christian allies, changes have occurred due to the critical situation in the Middle East. Over the past few years, leaders in mainstream Jewish organizations have been more open to accepting Evangelical support but have also encountered new tensions. Alan Mittleman, Byron R. Johnson, and Nancy Isserman bring together a collection of critical essays that investigate how each group perceives the other and the evolution of their relationship together. This book focuses on the history of Evangelical-Jewish relations from the level of communal agencies to grassroots groups. While the essays document differences in worldview, ethos, and politics, they also highlight shared values and problems. These commonalities have the potential to broaden the relationship between the two communities. Uneasy Allies? is an illuminating book that will stimulate discussion among scholars of religion and politics and those interested in Jewish studies.

Uneasy Allies? offers a careful study of the cultural distance between Jews and Evangelicals, two groups that have been largely estranged from one another. While in the past, American Jews have been wary of accepting the support of would-be Evangelical Christian allies, changes have occurred due to the critical situation in the Middle East. Over the past few years, leaders in mainstream Jewish organizations have been more open to accepting Evangelical support but have also encountered new tensions. Alan Mittleman, Byron R. Johnson, and Nancy Isserman bring together a collection of critical essays that investigate how each group perceives the other and the evolution of their relationship together. This book focuses on the history of Evangelical-Jewish relations from the level of communal agencies to grassroots groups. While the essays document differences in worldview, ethos, and politics, they also highlight shared values and problems. These commonalities have the potential to broaden the relationship between the two communities. Uneasy Allies? is an illuminating book that will stimulate discussion among scholars of religion and politics and those interested in Jewish studies.

Religion as a Public Good: Jews and Other Americans on Religion in the Public Square explores the often controversial topic of how religion ought to relate to American public life. The sixteen distinguished contributors, both Jewish and Christian, reflect on the topic out of their own disciplines-social ethics, political theory, philosophy, law, history, theology, and sociology. and take a stand based on their religious convictions and political beliefs. The volume is at once scholarly and committed, polemic and civil, reflective and activist. Written in the shadow of 9/11, it invites a new consideration of how religion enhances democratic public life with full awareness of the dangers that religion can sometimes pose. The volume is polemical, as befits the topic, but also civil, as befits a dialogue about an issue of profound significance for democratic citizenship.

Religion as a Public Good: Jews and Other Americans on Religion in the Public Square explores the often controversial topic of how religion ought to relate to American public life. The sixteen distinguished contributors, both Jewish and Christian, reflect on the topic out of their own disciplines-social ethics, political theory, philosophy, law, history, theology, and sociology. and take a stand based on their religious convictions and political beliefs. The volume is at once scholarly and committed, polemic and civil, reflective and activist. Written in the shadow of 9/11, it invites a new consideration of how religion enhances democratic public life with full awareness of the dangers that religion can sometimes pose. The volume is polemical, as befits the topic, but also civil, as befits a dialogue about an issue of profound significance for democratic citizenship.