A major Jewish organisation has asked the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Senator Joseph Lieberman, to stop drawing attention to his Jewish faith during his campaign speeches.
The unusual request from the Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913 to fight anti-Jewish bigotry, follows speeches by Mr Lieberman emphasising the role of religion in American life in a way that can appear to breach the constitutional separation of church and state.
In a letter to Mr Lieberman, the ADL said: "Candidates should feel comfortable explaining their religious convictions to voters. At the same time, however, we believe there is a point at which emphasis on religion in a political campaign becomes inappropriate and even unsettling in a religiously diverse society such as ours."
One of the signatories of the letter, the ADL national director, Mr Abraham Foxman, said later that it was in response to remarks Mr Lieberman had made in a Detroit church during Sunday services. He told the congregation that he wanted his candidacy as an Orthodox Jew to reinstate "a place for faith in America's public life". Mr Foxman said in an interview: "We do not think that religion belongs in the political campaign and in the political arena. There's nothing wrong with somebody professing their faith and going to church or synagogue, but this is almost hawking it."
Last December the ADL sent a similar letter to all eight candidates then seeking the Democratic and Republican party nominations for president after they made statements emphasising their Christian religious beliefs.
Observers have been struck by the number of times Mr Liber man has spoken about his religious beliefs since he was chosen by Vice-President Al Gore as the first Jewish-American to be on the presidential ticket of a major party.
Now the ADL, which is an influential Jewish organisation, has felt obliged to rebuke Mr Lieberman as well, saying that it is "troubled" by his most recent remarks. In Detroit Mr Lieberman said: "The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion". He added: "As a people, we need to reaffirm our faith and renew the dedication of our nation and ourselves to God and God's purpose."
A spokeswoman for Mr Lieberman, Ms Kiki McLean, said: "We respectfully disagree" with the ADL letter. Mr Lieberman was expected to respond to the letter.
The Republican candidate, Governor George W. Bush, has also at times drawn attention to his Christian beliefs and in a debate named Jesus Christ as his favourite political philosopher. He also named a "Jesus Day" recently in Texas. Mr Gore has described himself as a "born-again Christian" and has said that before making decisions he murmurs "WWJD - what would Jesus do?"
Polls indicate that a large majority of Americans regard themselves as religious, but there was concern that the selection of Mr Lieberman might stir up latent anti-Jewish sentiment. One African-American official was forced to resign from his post after he expressed some criticism of Jews, but generally the choice of Mr Lieberman has been welcomed.