“Religion, faith, and morality are deeply private things, and should remain that way.

—Philadelphia Daily News

“The separation of church and state prohibits the establishment of a state religion. But it does not demand that religion be limited to the private side of life.”

—Kenneth L. Woodward

In 2000, Democratic Party presidential candidate Al Gore picked Connecticut senator Joseph Lieberman to be his running mate, making Lieberman the first Jewish American to be a major party candidate for vice president. Although Gore and Lieberman were not ultimately elected, Lieberman’s presence in the presidential race renewed perennial debates as to the proper place of religion in American life and politics.

Lieberman, a religiously observant member of the Orthodox branch of Judaism, raised the issue of religion in America in several well-publicized campaign speeches and pronouncements. In a noted speech at the University of...