Thou Shall Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself : Tracing the Progress of Friendship in the Catholic-Jewish Interfaith Dialogue

Abstract

In 1965 the Second Vatican Council produced a document known as Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions also known as Nostra Aetate. This document marked a shift by the Vatican towards tolerance for non-Christian religions. My thesis examines the ways in which this document makes changes in the Christian-Jewish interfaith relationship from the Vatican's to the wider religious world. I analyzed various documents that followed the Nostra Aetate put out by the Vatican and a major Jewish organization called the Tanenbaum Foundation. I explain how the ideals this document seeks can help small religious organizations work on interfaith relationships and educations about non-Christian religions. My smaller focus organizations were in the New Jersey area. The two organizations I focused on were The Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey and First Congregational United Church of Christ. My goal is to explain how Christian organizations have a responsibility to create education about diverse religious history. If major Christian organizations can follow some of the models created by Jewish organizations then they will be able to educate congregants against prejudice in their communities. Most importantly Christian organizations need to provide historical context when discussing the Jewish religion and people to their constituents when interpreting biblical stories. Understanding Jewish history better can help prevent violence against the Jewish people going forward.