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How did early Christian teachings contribute to antisemitism in Europe?
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antisemitism
Demonstrators protesting antisemitism during a silent march in Paris. The march commemorated Mireille Knoll, a Jewish woman who had survived the Holocaust and was murdered in her home on March 23, 2018, in what authorities called a hate crime.
Early Christian teachings contributed significantly to the development of antisemitism in Europe by establishing a theological framework that marginalized and demonized Jewish people. As Christianity sought to establish itself as the successor to Judaism, it increasingly portrayed Jews as an alien people who had rejected the Messiah and were responsible for the death of Jesus.12
Key factors in this development included:
- Supersessionism: Also known as replacement theology, this doctrine held that Christians had replaced Jews as the chosen people of God. This view suggested that Judaism had been superseded, leading to the belief that the continued existence of Jews was an act of stubborn defiance.23
- Teaching of Contempt: Influential theologians, from St. Augustine to Martin Luther, characterized Jews as rebels against God and murderers of the Lord. They were frequently described in derogatory terms, such as a race of vipers or companions of the Devil.12
- Liturgical Influence: Scriptural readings during Good Friday commemorations of the Crucifixion reinforced the narrative of Jewish culpability, fostering deep-seated enmity.12
These early polemics laid the groundwork for centuries of persecution, including the segregation of Jews and the emergence of dangerous tropes like the blood libel. These prejudices were eventually renounced by the Roman Catholic Church in the 1965 declaration Nostra aetate.12