Common Question

What Does "Judeo-Christian" Mean in PragerU's Branding?

PragerU's presenters come from varied ethnic and religious backgrounds, and its founder, Dennis Prager, is Jewish. source PragerU is still documented as Christian nationalist in orientation. The mechanism behind that is the specific term PragerU uses to describe its own mission.

Prager's own framing

Prager has described his mission as "to influence as many people as possible to adopt Judeo-Christian and American values." source The phrase "Judeo-Christian," rather than just "Christian," has a specific history behind it.

What historians of the term say

K. Healan Gaston, a Harvard Divinity School historian who wrote the standard academic history of the phrase, describes "Judeo-Christian" as a term that projects a false sense of multiculturalism while, in practice, excluding Muslims, atheists, and members of many other faiths. Researcher Nadia Malinovich says the term gets used as cover for Christian nationalism. source The Society for Humanistic Judaism says the religious right uses the phrase to imply broader support for a Christian-nationalist agenda than actually exists, Jewish support included. source

PragerU's own record

Reporting on PragerU has documented both halves of this at once — the Judeo-Christian, pro-Israel branding, and content that erodes the separation of church and state. source A diverse presenter roster and a Jewish founder fit this pattern. They don't argue against it.