A few years after my father’s death — and an ensuing crisis of faith — I wrote a deeply personal book about the role of religion in public policy, from my perspective as a Jewish progressive in the buckle of the Bible Belt. I traveled the country on a promotional tour, but my favorite forums were found in the hills and hollers of the Commonwealth, talking to gentile audiences about the commonalities between the Talmud and Rabbi Jesus’s teachings.
Invariably after each speech, at least one well-intentioned rural parishioner would approach me with a handshake or hug, proclaiming something to the effect of: “Jonathan, thank you for being so Christian.