A Christian Nation?

There is no better way to start an argument than to refer to the United States as "a Christian nation." However inflammatory the phrase may be, if we are to believe a post yesterday on Just Engage, "The official blog of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs," both the Democratic and Republican Parties in the state of Nevada have just added some fuel to the fire:

This year, the Nevada Democratic and Republican parties have decided to hold their primary caucuses on a Saturday, with citizens required to report by 11:30 and 9:00 AM respectively, right during morning religious services. When I called the political parties in Nevada to inquire as to whether or not there were measures being taken to help accommodate those observant Jews who wished to participate in the caucuses, I received mixed results. A young Jewish woman at the Nevada Democratic Party told me that they had tried to put caucus-sites near religious neighborhoods and synagogues so that people could walk; precinct captains would be educated about the need to write down information on behalf of observant Jews instead of asking them to sign-in and write themselves. A gentleman at the Nevada Republican Party told me that the party was not even aware of the problem, but promised to make an effort to educate precinct captains on the issue. Neither had an adequate answer as to why the caucuses had to take place on a Shabbat morning.

Nevada has one of the fastest growing Jewish populations in the country, and its 65,000-80,000 Jewish community members are expected to have a disproportionate impact on the results. I do not know how many of these Jews are observant enough to be effectively barred from participating in the caucus. I do not know how many of these Jews will be pushed into the uncomfortable position of choosing between attending synagogue and participating in a cherished American civic tradition. I DO know that it is highly unlikely that the state's political parties would choose to hold these caucuses on a Sunday morning during church services.

We already saw in Iowa that, because caucuses are not elections, they are not subject to the same regulations as elections. Nevertheless, this tells us something about "grass roots" culture; and it may be one of those "inconvenient truths" that we would prefer not to hear!