On the Secularization of the Public Square: Jews in France and in the United States
Pierre Birnbaum, 30 Cardozo L. Rev. 2431 (2009)
In this paper, I would like to discuss some strong and surprising similarities between France and the United States and show that, in both societies, most Jews have until recently been key supporters of a “naked public square,” favoring a complete separation of church and state through different means: through the State in France, and through the Supreme Court in the United States. In two completely different societies–one, France, with a strong State, and the other, the United States, with, according to de Tocqueville, a weak state–Jews were hostile to a Christian state in favor of a more neutral state separated from the Church. Nevertheless, in France, the strong separation of church and state resulted in a secularized society with a small percentage of citizens with religious beliefs, near-empty churches and synagogues, and a declining Jewish identity.
