Rachel Evans
The relationship between Judaism and Catholicism is complex and multifaceted. While Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was himself Jewish, the two religions have had a tumultuous relationship over the centuries. Early Christians, including Paul the Apostle, initially persecuted Jews who did not accept their belief in Jesus as the Messiah. As Christianity gained prominence in the Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, which emerged as the main institution of Christianity, began to view Judaism as a rival religion and worked to suppress its practice, even forcing many Jews to convert. This persecution continued for centuries, with the Catholic Church institutionalizing antisemitism through discriminatory laws and the Inquisition. However, it's important to note that Catholics and Jews also shared experiences of severe discrimination, and some Popes defended Jews against violence and false accusations during the Renaissance and after the Holocaust.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Relationship between Jews and Catholics | Jews and Catholics shared experiences of discrimination. |
| Antisemitism existed among Catholics, and caution or fear of Catholics could be found among Jews. | |
| The Catholic Church has been accused of perpetuating antisemitism and contributing to the demonization of Jews before the Holocaust. | |
| The Catholic Church has acknowledged its role in antisemitism and has taken steps toward reconciliation with the Jewish community. | |
| Jesus' Religion | Jesus was born and died a Jew. |
| Some consider Jesus to be a Catholic Christian by faith. | |
| Jesus wanted his followers to be small groups, not a denomination. | |
| The apostles, who were also Jewish, recognized Jesus as the Messiah and embraced Christianity as the completion of Judaism. | |
| Catholic Religion | The Catholic Church emerged as the main institution of Christianity and viewed Judaism as a rival religion. |
| The Catholic Church suppressed the practice of Judaism and forced many Jews to convert to Christianity. | |
| The Catholic Church adopted and adapted Jewish traditions, such as substituting Sunday for the Jewish Sabbath and Easter for Passover. |
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What You'll Learn
Jesus was a Jew
Jesus was born a Jew, of Jewish descent from his mother, Mary. He practiced the Jewish religion and respected Jewish laws, knowing the Torah well. Jesus was recognised as the Messiah by some Jews, including the apostles and their followers, who embraced the new, completed form of Judaism, or Christianity.
The early Catholic Church, however, sought to distance itself from Judaism, portraying Jews as Christ's killers and instituting discriminatory laws and the Inquisition during the Middle Ages. The Church urged the abandonment of Jewish traditions, such as the Sabbath and Passover, and claimed the patriarchs and prophets of the Jewish scriptures for itself.
Despite the shared heritage of Jews and Christians, antisemitism has been perpetuated by the Catholic Church throughout history. This includes the accusation of Jewish deicide, or the belief that Jews were responsible for killing Jesus, as well as the spread of socioeconomic myths and misinterpretations of Jewish texts.
In recent times, there have been efforts towards reconciliation. The Second Vatican Council in the 1960s repudiated the Jewish deicide accusation and addressed antisemitism. Pope John XXIII acknowledged the Church's role in perpetuating antisemitism and issued an apology to the Jewish community. Interfaith committees have since worked together to address social justice, interfaith dialogue, and Holocaust education.
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The Catholic Church's role in antisemitism
As Christianity gained prominence in the Roman Empire, the Catholic Church emerged as the main institution of the faith, and it began to view Judaism as a rival religion. The Church Fathers urged a break from Jewish traditions, such as substituting Sunday for the Sabbath and Easter for Passover. They also claimed the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament for themselves, declaring themselves the “New Israel”. This marked the start of the Church's suppression of Jewish practices and forced conversions of Jews to Christianity.
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church institutionalized antisemitism by creating discriminatory laws and establishing the Inquisition, which led to widespread persecution, expulsions, and massacres of Jews. The Black Death pandemic, which swept through Europe between 1347 and 1350, further fuelled antisemitism as Jews were blamed for the plague, resulting in violent attacks. Pope Clement VI issued papal bulls condemning the violence and defending the Jews, showing that not all Church leaders promoted antisemitism.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, antisemitism was prevalent in social and historical contexts, often driven by economic and social changes, such as industrialization and population shifts. Traditional antisemitic interpretations and propaganda found a ready echo in Christian circles, and few Catholic leaders spoke up against the persecution of Jews. This period also saw the expulsion of Jews from Catholic kingdoms, including Spain and Portugal, where forced conversions occurred.
Following the Holocaust in the 20th century, the Catholic Church made efforts to improve relations with the Jewish community. The Second Vatican Council in the 1960s addressed antisemitism and repudiated the accusation of Jewish deicide. In 1965, the Church issued "Nostra aetate", condemning antisemitism and recognizing the shared heritage of Jews and Christians. Pope John Paul II apologized to the Jewish community and established the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews to foster interfaith dialogue and address past harm.
While the Catholic Church has taken steps towards reconciliation, it has also been accused of denying its role in fomenting antisemitism and contributing to the conditions that made the Holocaust possible. Scholars have argued that the Church played a significant role in leading Catholics to view Jews as an existential threat, and its right-wing factions have been particularly criticized for obfuscating the truth.
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The Catholic Church's relationship with Judaism
The relationship between the Catholic Church and Judaism has been fraught with conflict and persecution throughout history, but there have also been periods of reconciliation and attempts to address past wrongs.
Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was himself a Jew, and the early Christians were all ethnically Jewish. However, many Jews did not recognise Jesus as the Messiah, and so did not convert to the new religion. As Christianity spread and gained prominence, the Catholic Church, as the main institution of Christianity, began to view Judaism as a rival religion. The Church urged its followers to abandon Jewish traditions and practices, such as the Sabbath and Passover, and declared itself the "New Israel", claiming the patriarchs and prophets of Judaism for itself. The Church also began to portray Jews as rivals and enemies, with Paul the Apostle writing that the Jews had "killed Christ and the prophets" (Thessalonians 2:14-15).
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church institutionalised antisemitism, creating discriminatory laws and establishing the Inquisition, which forced many Jews to convert to Christianity or face expulsion and violence. The "Black Death" pandemic of the 14th century further fuelled antisemitism, as Jews were blamed for the plague and subjected to violent attacks. Despite this, some Popes, such as Pope Clement VI, defended the Jews and condemned the violence against them.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, antisemitism continued to persist and even intensify, with Catholic institutions and leaders contributing to and spreading antisemitic propaganda. The Holocaust in the 20th century was a devastating consequence of this hatred, and it prompted some soul-searching within the Catholic Church. In the 1960s, the Second Vatican Council worked to improve relations between the Church and Judaism, repudiating the accusation of Jewish deicide and addressing antisemitism. Pope John XXIII acknowledged the Church's role in perpetuating antisemitism and asked for forgiveness. Since then, the Catholic Church has continued to work towards reconciliation, with interfaith committees meeting regularly and joint initiatives on social justice, interfaith dialogue, and Holocaust education.
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The Jewish persecution of early Christians
Early Christianity began as a sect among Second Temple Jews, and inter-communal dissension began almost immediately. According to the Acts of the Apostles, a year after the Roman crucifixion of Jesus, Stephen was stoned for what the Jews saw as transgressions of Jewish law. Saul (Paul) of Tarsus, who later converted to Christianity, was complicit in this persecution. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11 of the sufferings he endured from the Jews after his conversion: "Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned...".
Herod Agrippa, who obtained the title of King of the Jews in 41 AD, was responsible for the persecution in which James the Great was killed, Saint Peter barely escaped, and the rest of the apostles fled. After Agrippa's death in 44 AD, the Roman procuratorship began, and the leaders maintained a neutral peace until the high priest Ananus ben Ananus executed James the Just, then the leader of Jerusalem's Christians, in 62 AD. Paul was imprisoned on several occasions by the Roman authorities, stoned by Jews and left for dead, and was eventually taken to Rome as a prisoner. Peter and other early Christians were also imprisoned and prosecuted.
The First Jewish Rebellion led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the end of Second Temple Judaism, and the subsequent slow rise of Rabbinic Judaism. The traditional view of the separation of Judaism and Christianity holds that Jewish-Christians fled en masse to Pella shortly before this event due to persecution. Steven D. Katz writes, "there can be no doubt that the post-70 situation witnessed a change in the relations of Jews and Christians". Judaism sought to reconstitute itself, which included determining the proper response to Jewish Christianity. This took several forms: the circulation of official anti-Christian pronouncements, the issuing of an official ban against Christians attending synagogues, a prohibition against reading heretical writings, and the spreading of the curse against heretics.
Several scholars, including de Ste Croix and Frend, have argued that Jewish persecution was a key factor in the troubles of the early Church. Frend writes, "there was the continuous, bitter hostility of the Jews towards the Christians, which ensured that there would lack neither accusers nor mobs to shout 'down with the atheists' at the appropriate moment". However, it is important to note that Frend's position has been critiqued for taking at face value the anti-Jewish tendencies of early Christian sources.
Another scholar, Nirenberg, identifies an obsession with "informers" in Jewish and Muslim accounts of this period, suggesting that delation was the main catalyst for persecution. According to Justin Martyr, Christians were punished by Simon bar Kokhba, the leader of the third Jewish revolt against Rome (132–136 AD), if they did not deny and blaspheme Jesus Christ.
It is worth noting that early Christians also participated in the persecution of Jews. For example, several months after the Persian conquest in 614 AD, a band of young Christians killed the Jewish governor of Jerusalem, Nehemiah, while he was making plans for the building of the Third Temple.
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The Jewish-Christian rivalry
Jesus was a Jew by ethnicity and practiced the Jewish religion. However, many Jews did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and so did not accept Christianity, which is considered a continuation of Judaism. As such, they remained with an incomplete form of Judaism. Other Jews, such as the apostles, did recognize Jesus as the Messiah and embraced Christianity, which did not require adherence to strict Jewish dietary laws and the requirement of circumcision.
As Christianity grew and became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, the relationship between the two religions began to change. The Catholic Church emerged as the main institution of Christianity and started to view Judaism as a rival religion. The Church urged the substitution of the Jewish Sabbath with Sunday and the abandonment of Passover for Easter. It claimed the patriarchs and prophets of the Bible for itself and pronounced Judaism an aberration from the Divine Will. The Church also began to suppress the practice of Judaism and forced many Jews to convert to Christianity through forced conversions, expulsions, and massacres. This persecution continued for several centuries, with the Catholic Church institutionalizing antisemitism through the creation of discriminatory laws and the establishment of the Inquisition.
During the Middle Ages, popular opinion blamed the Jews for the Black Death pandemic that swept through Europe, and violence erupted against them. Pope Clement VI issued two papal bulls, one of which, Quamvis Perfidiam, condemned the violence and stated that those blaming the Jews for the plague had been "seduced by that liar, the Devil."
In the 19th and 20th centuries, antisemitism was prevalent in social and historical contexts, and few Catholic political leaders or church dignitaries spoke up for the Jews. The misinterpretation of the role Jews played in the crucifixion, as portrayed in the Gospel of Matthew, resulted in a "teaching of contempt" towards Jews. This was further compounded by socioeconomic myths and political and economic competition between the two groups in 20th-century America.
Following World War II and the Holocaust, the Catholic Church took steps to improve relations with the Jewish community, repudiating the Jewish deicide accusation and addressing antisemitism. In 1965, the Church issued the document "Nostra aetate," which condemned antisemitism and recognized the shared heritage of Jews and Christians. Pope John XXIII acknowledged the role of the Church in perpetuating antisemitism and prepared a document expressing regret for the persecution of Jews. Pope John Paul II also offered an apology to the Jewish community. Since the 1970s, interfaith committees have met regularly to address relations between the two religions, and Catholic and Jewish institutions have collaborated on various initiatives.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the Jews did not create the Catholic religion. While Jesus, who Catholics claim to follow, was born and died a Jew, the Catholic religion was established at the Council of Nicaea in 325.
The Catholic Church, which emerged as the main institution of Christianity, began to view Judaism as a rival religion. The Church suppressed the practice of Judaism and forced many Jews to convert to Christianity. This persecution continued for several centuries, with Jews being subjected to forced conversions, expulsions, massacres, and discriminatory laws.
No, many Jews did not recognize Jesus' role as the Messiah and stayed with a partial, incomplete form of Judaism. However, some Jews, including the apostles and their followers, did recognize Jesus as the Messiah and embraced the new, completed form of Judaism, which became known as Christianity.
Antisemitism has been perpetuated by the Catholic Church throughout history, with the creation of discriminatory laws and the establishment of the Inquisition. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, socioeconomic changes and national movements contributed to rising antisemitism, which found a ready echo in Christian circles. The Catholic Church played a significant role in spreading anti-Jewish propaganda and portraying Jews as an existential threat, which contributed to the demonization of Jews and ultimately led to the Holocaust.
