Cuomo at Notre Dame: Rhetoric without religion

Mario Cuomo, through his 1984 speech at Notre Dame University, constructs a version of the role of religious rhetoric in public policy. Confronted by church officials for the contradiction between his abortion policy and church teaching, Cuomo responds with an appeal grounded in the wall of separation between church and state. The discourse fashions a public forum in which Cuomo can advocate the paradox in his position as necessary to preserve democratic pluralism. This essay explores how Cuomo's discourse invites listeners to adopt Cuomo's construct and evaluates his version of appropriate religious argument in public rhetoric.

Key concepts:

• Mario Cuomo
• church and state
• decorum
• democratic pluralism
• public consensus
• religious rhetoric
• religious argument
• rhetorical criticism
• textual studies
• “wall of separation”