The New Promise of Citizenship in a Secular State

In the german speaking lands, in france, in britain and other places, a new political concept had gained traction, the separation between state and church. For jews, this was, in many ways, a promising development. But druce could not help to notice right away that the new promise of citizenship in a secular state occurred in a highly problematic context. Suddenly, jews were asked to give an account of their religion. Was their religion compatible with citizenship? This was very disconcerting because the question itself was framed in terms that were alien to jewish life. Hebrew and yiddish did not have a word for religion, nor had arabic, nor