Christian–Jewish reconciliation
efforts that are being made to improve understanding and acceptance between Christians and Jews
Christian−Jewish reconciliation refers to the efforts that are being made to improve understanding and acceptance between Christians and Jews. There has been significant progress in reconciliation in recent years, in particular by the Catholic Church, but also by other Christian groups.
Background
In response to the Holocaust (though earlier accounts of reconciliation exist), and many instances of the persecution of Jews by Christians throughout history (most prominent being the Crusades and the Inquisition), many Christian theologians, religious historians and educators have sought to improve understanding of Judaism and Jewish religious practices by Christians.
There are a number of sensitive issues that continue to impact Christian–Jewish relations.
Proselytism
Attempts by Christians to convert Jews to Christianity is an important issue in Christian–Jewish relations. Groups such as the Anti-Defamation League have described many attempts to convert Jews as antisemitic.
Pope Benedict XVI suggested that the church should not be targeting Jews for conversion efforts, since "Israel is in the hands of God, who will save it 'as a whole' at the proper time." A number of Progressive Christian denominations have publicly declared that they will no longer proselytize Jews. Other mainline Christian and conservative Christian churches have said they will continue their efforts to evangelize among Jews, saying that this is not antisemitic.
A 2008 survey of American Christians by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that over 60% of most denominations believe that Jews will receive eternal life after death alongside Christians.
Roman Catholicism
The Second Vatican Council, commonly known as Vatican II, which closed in 1965, was instrumental in producing the document called Nostra aetate, which read in part:
True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ; still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.
“Christian–Jewish reconciliation” enters the record as efforts that are being made to improve understanding and acceptance between Christians and Jews. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Christian, Jewish and reconciliation can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Christian–Jewish reconciliation” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Christian, Jewish and reconciliation provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1743012. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2008 and 1965.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Christian–Jewish reconciliation”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Christian–Jewish reconciliation primary sources, Christian–Jewish reconciliation archive and Christian research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Christian–Jewish reconciliation” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.