Somehow Christmas seemed darker last year, bereft of its usual radiance. Like a heroic soldier, it was left alone to fend off a platoon of barrages against it. Shots came from many quarters – all contesting the placement of Christmas symbols in public areas. No protests came, however, from Orthodox Jews, nor those who, while not Orthodox, remain traditionally-valued. And that is because this group understands and appreciates the ameliorating influence that religion provides civic life, so long as the religion does not call for, as in the case of radical Islam, the oppression of “infidels.” What better use of...