Session 8: Parashat Terumah

Dwight Eisenhower, Remarks at the Freedoms Forum, 1952

As the parasha describes the work of creating the first national religious institution, the Tabernacle, we reflect on the importance of religion in American democracy. Since the days of the Puritans, religion has played a crucial role in the formation of our country, often producing prophets who have spoken out on specific policy issues. But a subtler role for religion has been to provide ballast – to help stabilize our democracy – through its institutions, the local governance within those institutions, and the moral frameworks religion provides to society. At the start of the Cold War, President Eisenhower spoke frequently about this role of religion in our democracy, most famously in impromptu remarks in 1952.

Given how our religious groups have become divided along political lines today, this week’s parasha gives us an opportunity to consider this broader universal role for our institutions.

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