Description: This book 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-which include social ethics, political theory, philoso...
Brief description: David Novak is the author of nineteen books, the latest being Athens and Jerusalem: God, Humans, and Nature which received the Canadian Jewish Literary Award in 2020. His 2000 book, Covenantal Rights received the American Academy of Religion Award in 2000 for Best Book in Constructive Religious Thought. He is also the author of The Sanctity of Human Life (2009) and Zionism and Judaism: A New Theory (2016). He had edited four books and authored over 300 articles and reviews in numerous scholarly and intellectual journals. He is also one of the co-authors of the 2000 manifesto, Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity, which has been translated into eight languages. In 2019 he received the James Q. Wilson Award from the Association for the Study of Free Institutions at Princeton University; and Prix Philippe Pinel in Rome from the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, and L'Académie International d'Éthique, Medécine et Politique Publique.
Review Quotes:
"These essays are a valuable contribution to a topic of significant importance to American Jews and to all who are interested in the distinctive American interplay of diverse religious traditions and civil life. Recommended." --Choice Reviews
"This remarkable volume presents a strikingly diverse range of views on church-state issues. It also contains much original survey information and other fresh empirical findings. Whatever one's perspective on religion's social and civic role, this balanced, lively, and timely volume will enrich and challenge it." --John J. DiIulio Jr., University of Pennsylvania, First Director of University of Pennsylvania, former First Director of White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives "Jews are the chosen people in what Lincoln called an almost chosen nation. This important book describes the intriguing ways in which many are rethinking what it means to be Jewish in a dominantly Christian society. The potential consequences should be welcomed by all Americans." --Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, Editor-in-Chief, First Things "Alan Mittleman is to be commended for this collection of essays where some of the country's best thinkers debate the implications of Religion as a Public Good. This lively volume belongs in the library of all who are concerned about religious freedom." --Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard University, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See "[The contributors] write seriously and well on the question of religion as a public good." --First Things "This first-rate collection of freshly-commissioned essays that range across a wide spectrum of opinion addresses a vitally important and timely question: How should religious adherents, and specifically engaged Jews, draw upon their faith traditions as they participate in American public discourse?" --Jack Wertheimer, Jewish Theological Seminary