Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

January 8, 2025

How the Lack of a Default Religion Shaped American Culture

A Christian turned Jew reflects on a Jew turned Christian.

The British novelist and statesman Benjamin Disraeli was converted to Christianity at a young age and remained loyal to the faith, but he also spoke with much pride of his Jewish ancestry. In the course of a reflection on the different ways Christmas is celebrated in the U.S. and the UK, Virginia Postrel, a South Carolina-born convert to Judaism, considers that such a public figure might not be possible in America.

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