The history of American Judaism from 1865 to today encourages us to ask questions about some of the major themes in American religious and political history. American Jews were one of the first large non-Christian immigrant groups in the U.S. By examining the history of Jews’ efforts to have equal protection under the law as a minority group in a “Christian nation,” the evolution and diversity of their religious practices, and their engagement in the public sphere, we examine the debates about religion and politics that continue to this day: How do religious ideas, institutions and people shape American politics? How does the government respond to the religious diversity of the country’s inhabitants? What does religion have to do with immigration, gender, race, democracy, war and peace in the U.S.?