New Claimants to Religious Tolerance and Protection A Case Study of American and Canadian Muslims

Abstract

Introduction
In The Myth of the Judeo-Christian Tradition, Arthur A. Cohen questions
the notion that a "Judeo-Christian" tradition even exists, and suggests
that it is an invention of twentieth century American politics spawned by
efforts to form a cultural consensus and, in the process, homogenize religious
identification and promote interfaith harmony. The conception of such a
tradition is, in Cohen's words, " ... mythological or, rather, not precisely
mythological but ideological and hence, as in all ideologies, shot through
with falsification, distortion, and untruth."
A political use of the term "Judeo-Christian" has gained particular currency
in the latter part of the twentieth century as reliance on certain religious
values, symbols and rhetoric in public discourse has both generated and
reflected popular approval, the ideal of separation of church and state not withstanding.
Common assumptions about the place of religion and morality
in public life are being reevaluated. In an era of greater conformity and
consensus-building, ushered in by a general swing toward conservatism in
North American politics, an effort is being made to resurrect a shared set
of traditional beliefs and values thought once to be the backbone of American
and Canadian life. Instead of celebrating diversity and pluralism in North
America, the emphasis has been placed on the merits of unity and a shared
sense of ethics. Conservatives are engaged in an effort to redefine American
values and beliefs and ameliorate what they see as deplorable conditions
precipitated by the liberalism, secularity and moral relativism of the 1960s.
This corrective impulse is proving to be an important factor in reshaping
both the religious and political scene.
It is in this context that the meaning of difference has been obscured.
A commitment to pluralism has been an important part of the heritage of
North American societies, especially Canada, since their inception and yet
what is meant by reference to the "Judeo-Christian" tradition remains ambiguous.
Rather than promoting interfaith harmony, the current use of the
concept functions to exclude those who are judged to deviate from the social
and cultural norm or to be nonbelievers, i.e., persons conceived to be a threat
to the bedrock values of America. Observers of the North American religious
scene have noted that religion is used as a means of negotiating one's place
in society and establishing identity. Public figures appeal to our sense of
national identity and patriotism by talking about the United States as a 'judeoChristian
nation," which, in effect, serves to exclude other religious groups
(such as Muslims) and nonreligious groups from the mainstream of American
sociery.
What is implied by reference to "Judeo-Christian" is even narrowerthose
who actually mean to promote an exclusively Christian America6 use
it to signify the defense of purportedly Christian-cum-American values and
life-style from the inroads of secular humanism. President Reagan, in his
1983 speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando. Florida, ...