Praying with Queequeg: Western Christian Toleration in Moby-Dick

Herman Melville did not adhere to Christian orthodoxy. If he was a Christian at all, he was a peculiar one. However, in his masterful work, which poetically rages against God and all creation, Moby-Dick, Melville offers a critique of American Christianity from which the “Christian West” can learn. He contrasts an uncommitted, milquetoast protestant, Ishmael, with an ardent, committed pagan, Queequeg. Their relationship draws Ishmael into idolatry, using Christian doctrine as justification. This parody of toleration qua cultural relativism demonstrates the problem of religious pluralism in the West.