Introduction: Nostra Aetate and Its Relevance for Today

Abstract

Of the sixteen documents produced by the Second Vatican Council, the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions is the briefest. Yet, it generated passionate discussions, both of a theological and political nature, and caused intense worldwide newspaper and media coverage. The document included statements on Catholic-Jewish relations, the condemnation of anti-Semitism, and endeavored to address anti-Jewish ideas in Christian history and the Church’s liturgy that helped give rise to Nazism. As the document developed, it was expanded to clarify ideas on the Church’s respect for the spiritual, moral, and cultural values of—Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and, by extension, other religious beliefs. Islam, however, came to dominate the discussions due to concerns that a statement on the Jews would be interpreted politically not religiously in the Middle East where there is no distinction between a person’s politics and religion.