As you may know, my primary endeavor these last few months has been preparing for my doctoral exams. I had originally hoped to take them in October, but as the process has been slower than I hoped, I now anticipate taking them in February. But my summer has not been unproductive.
One reason my studies have been so slow is because I have been investigating reports of a new and growing religion, which may have several million practitioners, most of them in the United States. My findings are nowhere near ready for publication, but I am at least prepared to share the some preliminary information about this exciting new discovery of a previously undocumented religious tradition.
Its adherents call themselves “Judeo-Christian,” but have no name for their religion. It appears to have originated in the United States in the last twenty or thirty years, but its roots may go back at least to the post-WWII era. Judeo-Christians do not seem to espouse any particular doctrine; must of their language is vaguely theistic, but any notions of deity seem secondary to what they call “values.” They regard Jesus of Nazareth, Moses, and the Jewish prophets as the originators of these values, but no emphasis is placed on any soteriological function of Jesus or observance of Torah. 18th century figures called the “founding fathers” also seem to play a prominent role in Judeo-Christian self-understanding. The relationship of the founding fathers to the historical political figures of the same names is unclear. The chief Judeo-Christian observance seems to involve a veneration of certain public spaces in North America.
Their understanding of sacred space seems to involve a high degree of sensitivity to ritual pollution, which must be prevented at all costs. Judeo-Christian apologists have petitioned the New York City government for the protection of an ill-defined sacred precinct from other religious observances, which they deem sacreligious. These apologists give no indication of what their licit observances are in these spaces, or what their ultimate plans for them may be. This may suggest that there is an esoteric aspect to the Judeo-Christian religion. It remains to be seen whether the presence of a possibly esoteric religious group with unknown aims will cause tensions with other Americans.
I am very excited by this new discovery, and I look forward to sharing the outcomes of my ongoing research!
