Shibboleth is used in modern parlance to mean any language usage that signifies a social or regional origin. The use originates from a story in the biblical book of Judges, in which one clan rooted out spies from another clan by asking them to say the Hebrew word, which both clans pronounced differently. The actual meaning of the Hebrew word is "an ear of grain."
When President Bartlet asks the Chinese man seeking religious asylum whether he can name any of Jesus' (12) apostles, he lists only 11 names: "Peter, Andrew, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, Thaddus (aka Jude or Judas), Simon, Judas (Iscariot), and James." Technically, this is not incorrect because there are two apostles named James: James, son of Alpheus (aka James the Less) and James, son of Zebedee and brother of John.
Ironically enough, Toby (Richard Schiff) tortured history when he complained about torturing history. Jamestown was incorporated in 1607, which was the seventeenth century, rather than the sixteenth, as Toby claimed.
When meeting with President Bartlett, the leader of the refugees says "for we hold that man is justified by faith alone." This is meant as a reference to Romans 3:28. However, the word "alone" does not appear in the original Greek. It was added by Martin Luther when he published his German translation in the 16th century. The only place in Scripture where the words "faith alone" are found is James 2:24, "see how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone."
Title: Shibboleth is any language usage indicative of one's social or regional origin, or more broadly, any practice that identifies members of a group.