peace

An Example of Progress

An example of the progress that is possible is seen in the dramatic change in Christian-Jewish relations in the last fifty years, which the former BBC Religious Affairs correspondent Gerald Priestland described as one of the few items of genuinely good religious news that he was able to report.

Although some Christian scholars before the Second World War had already recognised that traditional Christian teaching about Jews and Judaism was dangerously mistaken, it was the shock and horror of the Holocaust that made Christians increasingly aware that centuries of anti-Jewish teaching had prepared the seed bed in heart of Christendom on which the dangerous weed of Nazism was to grow. The Nazis were anti-Christian as well as anti-Jewish, but they were able to exploit the traditional teaching of contempt. The task of building a new understanding and relationship has required Christians to correct their picture of Judaism of the first century of the Common Era, and especially of the role of the Pharisees, and to recognise that Jesus was a faithful Jew. Christians have come to see that Judaism is a continuing and spiritually fecund religion and many now recognise that the covenant with the Jewish people was not abrogated by the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus Christ. This recognition has called in question the appropriateness of Christian missionary attempts to convert Jews. Together with a proper appreciation of Judaism, some Christians have openly confessed the injury done to the Jewish people and have asked forgiveness, as Pope John Paul II did in Jerusalem in May 2000.

Certain stages in the new relationship between Jews and Christians can be identified. The first has been to dispel ignorance and prejudice, which has required Jewish and Christian scholars to work together to correct past misinformation and to embark on a major effort to educate members of both communities in the new knowledge. Knowledge is not enough. Personal meeting between Jews and Christians, especially young members of both communities, has helped to remove prejudice and antipathy. On the Christian side, there has been a need for theological rethinking. As this has happened, Jews and Christians have increasingly affirmed what they have in common, especially in the areas of ethical and moral teachings and have begun to witness together to these values in the wider society.

Although there has not been the motivation of the horrors of the Holocaust to spur Christians to seek a new appreciation of other religions there has been a similar process at work. In some other religions, there is also a new interest in relationships with other great faiths, but there has been, so far, little attempt say of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh scholars to look together at their often tragic histories. The growth of the study of religions, however, has also provided better information about the religions of the world and encouraged fruitful collaboration. Although this is mainly in the realm of academia, its influence has spread in some countries to schools and to the more general public through the many books now available about the religions of the world and through documentary programmes on television. There are many local groups for interfaith dialogue.

People of faith should challenge all forms of racism and prejudice, especially if it is religiously motivated. Today Islamophobia is as great a danger as Anti-Semitism. What is necessary is to ensure that when other faiths are talked about, they are spoken of with respect. One Rabbi said that when Christians speak of the Pharisees it is always ‘Jesus versus the Pharisees and Jesus always wins six-love, six-love.’ At an informed level this is changing, but traditional prejudicial attitudes die hard. The aim when speaking of another faith should be to talk of it in a way that would be recognised by its members. There are differences between religions but these should be honestly presented. If this now happens in the study of religions, it cannot be taken for granted in school text books or the media.

Rabbi Dr Ron Kronish who is Director of the Interreligious Co-Ordinating Council of Israel, has written a short study of how Christianity is taught in Israeli schools. In the State General (i.e. secular schools) Christianity is taught as part of the 6th-8th grade history curriculum. One of the stated aims is ‘to advance understanding and tolerance of the feelings, traditions and ways of life of other peoples and nations.’ The attempt is made to give a fair and objective account. By contrast, in one of the State Religious (i.e. Orthodox) schools, the title of the sub-chapter dealing with the development of Christianity is the ‘Religion of Hate.’ Education can play a vital part in creating a sympathetic appreciation of the other. A project was initiated with some support from Israeli and Palestinian authorities on ‘Teaching About the Other’ to see how Israeli and Palestinian children could be given a sympathetic view of each other’s religion and a reasonably objective history of the area in the twentieth century.

The provision for teaching religion varies from country to country and this is not the place to attempt a survey. Faith communities do have a particular responsibility for what is said and written about members of other faiths in the church, synagogue, mosque or other religious setting. They also have a responsibility to challenge prejudicial remarks made in the media.

Correct information is important, but personal encounter is even more effective in breaking down barriers. The interfaith organisations, such as the World Congress of Faiths, the International Association for Religious Freedom and the Temple of Understanding, have put great emphasis on providing occasions when people of different faiths can spend time together. Local groups, for example, can arrange for visits to mosques, or gurdwaras or churches. Even religious leaders may know too little of each other and of their faiths. When Marcus Braybrooke was Director of the (British) Council of Christians and Jews, he was surprised to discover that the Chief Rabbi had no opportunity to meet for serious conversation with the leaders of the main churches, who were fellow presidents of the Council. They might meet on a public platform and exchange pleasantries but that was as far as it got. In December 1986 the first in-depth meeting of the Presidents was arranged and it has become an important annual occasion. Earlier that year Pope John Paul II visited the Synagogue in Rome. This journey of some two thousand yards was described as his longest journey - across nearly two thousand years of tragic history. More recently, in Syria, the Pope made his first visit to a mosque.