My background first. I grew up in a Conservative Jewish family in rural America. Ellen Z. and I were expounding on a point of Christian theology to a mixed audience, one of whom asked why we knew so much about Christianity when we were Jewish? My answer was, "Self-defense."
Please keep in mind that I don't mean to tar everyone with the same brush. I have in mind mostly the very visible and vocal spokespeople for certain sects, not to say cults. Like Pat R., Jerry F., Oral R., etc. If the robe fits . . . .
BTW, this was prompted by the lunatic fringe's hoopla over use of the Quran for oath-taking for a representative.
Mostly Judeo-Christian is a term used by Protestant Christians who either want to deny their anti-Jewish feelings or to enlist Jewish support for a philosophically or religiously questionable enterprise in public policy. Funny how I never hear a Catholic use this word; maybe not so funny, as you read this diary.
Jewish prayers give thanks (Blessed are You oh God who creates bread from the earth). Christian prayers are petitionary, not to say demanding (Give us this day our daily bread).
The Golden Rule in Judaism is, "Whatever is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor." In other words, do NOT do unto others as you would NOT have others do unto you. The Golden Rule in Christianity is, "Do unto others what you would have others do unto you." How do these differ. Well, suppose you are Jewish. You would hate to have anyone try to convert you. Therefore, you would not try to convert others. Now, suppose you are Christian. You think, "If I were not a Christian, I would want someone to convert ME; therefore, I will try to convert others."
I won't go into the thinking that lies behind my next point, but Protestants mostly use selective reading of the Torah (the so-called "Old Testament"), and on this basis they claim to be the inheritors of this book. They point to the laws that require changes in the behaviors of other people such as (you) don't practice homosexuality, (you) obey (your) parents, etc. They ignore the ones which would affect their personal behavior such as (I) don't eat pork or shellfish, (I) don't charge interest on loans, (I) don't keep slaves forever but release them after six years, etc.
Bottom line here is that Protestants (except for a few extremely strict Baptists who don't dance or play cards) have NO SPECIAL DO-NOTS, unlike Jews, Muslims, old-time Catholics, and Buddhists. I have had them flat-out lie to me about the ingredients in a food dish and show absolutely no understanding of why that was wrong; it had no import, no resonance, no way to understand.
So when I hear someone mention "the Judeo-Christian values the US was founded on," my hackles rise and I check my passport and secret stash of gold in case flight becomes necessary.