Religion and Secularism

“Religion and Secularism” (A commentary on Michael Novak and Roger Scruton), in Religion and the American Future, ed. Christopher DeMuth and Yuval Levin (Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 2008).

Excerpt:

Theology is not a fruitful point of contact between the religions. Morality is. There is an important difference between Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism, morality trumps theology, practically always. In Christianity, theology trumps morality, frequently enough. After all, our revelation is the Ten Commandments, for ordinary people, in their daily life. It is not intended just for saints or to effect the transvaluation of humanity—just what they eat, and how to eat it. I think, therefore, that Jews have no problem with other religions if their moral code is, more or less, parallel to the Jewish moral code. We let all righteous people into heaven. Not every religion does so, however.

Online:
The Divine Conspiracy [pdf]