The term Judeo-Christo-Islamic is sometimes used to include Islam in discussions about Western religion. According to John O. Voll, associate director of the Washington-based Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, American presidential candidate Jesse Jackson was among the first American high-profile figures to to use the term Judeo-Christian-Islamic in reference to America. [1] While this term may be welcomed by many as religiously inclusive language, some have argued against its use saying that:

  • Muslims were not involved in the creation of Western society.
  • Muslim values differ from Christian and Jewish values.
  • Using the term Judeo-Christo-Islamic would be a form of revisionist history.
  • Other religions, such as Bahai, might need to be included in new terms, if society were to choose religiously inclusive language over historically accurate language.

Others have replied that the term is appropriate, saying:

  • Muslims were involved in the creation of Western society, as some black slaves were Muslim.
  • Christian values also differ from Jewish values, but that the emphasis in inclusive language should be on similarities rather than differences.
  • There is no problem with including other religions when engaging in discussions about the similarities between religions, and this should be encouraged rather than discouraged.
  • There are currently more Muslims than Jews in Canada and the number of Muslim Americans is slowly increasing as well due to immigration and possibly due to conversions. See [1] for a discussion of the number of Muslims in America.

Some proposed alternative inclusive terms are: Abrahamic religions and Monotheistic religions.

See also: Judeo-Christian tradition -- Christo-Islamic tradition --Judeo-Islamic tradition