Antisemitism in Christianity

Some Christian churches, Christian groups, and ordinary Christians express antisemitism—as well as anti-Judaism—towards Jews and Judaism. These expressions of antisemitism can be considered examples of antisemitism expressed by Christians or antisemitism expressed by Christian communities. However, the term Christian antisemitism has also been used to refer to anti-Jewish sentiments arising from Christian doctrinal or theological stances (by thinkers such as Jules Isaac, for example—especially in his book Jésus et Israël). The term is also used to suggest that to some degree, contempt for Jews and Judaism is inherent in Christianity as a religion, and as a result, the centralized institutions of Christian power (such as the Catholic Church or the Church of England), as well as governments with strong Christian influences (such as the Catholic Monarchs of Spain), have generated societal structures that have survived and perpetuate antisemitism to the present. This usage particularly appears in discussions about Christian structures of power within society—structures referred to as Christian hegemony or Christian privilege; these discussions are part of broader discussions about structural inequality and power dynamics.

Antisemitic Christian rhetoric and the resulting antipathy toward Jews and Judaism can be traced back to the earliest centuries of the Common Era and early Christianity, resembling pagan anti-Jewish attitudes that were reinforced by the belief that Jews are responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. Christian antisemitic attitudes and beliefs about Jews also partly stem from the persecution of the earliest Christians by Pharisees during the Second Temple period, with the Pharisees often depicted in the Christian New Testament as trying to eliminate the growing group of Jewish followers of Jesus. Christians imposed ever-increasing anti-Jewish measures over the ensuing centuries, including acts of ostracism, humiliation, expropriation, violence, and murder—measures which culminated in the Holocaust.

Christian antisemitism has been attributed to numerous factors, including the fundamental theological differences that exist between the two Abrahamic religions; the competition between church and synagogue; the Christian missionary impulse; a misunderstanding of Jewish culture, beliefs, and practice; and the perception that Judaism was hostile towards Christianity. For two millennia, these attitudes were reinforced in Christian preaching, art, and popular teachings, as well as in anti-Jewish laws designed to humiliate and stigmatise Jews.

Modern antisemitism has primarily been described as hatred against Jews as a race (i.e., racial antisemitism), and the most recent expression of it is rooted in 18th-century scientific racism. Anti-Judaism is rooted in hostility towards the entire religion of Judaism; in Western Christianity, anti-Judaism effectively merged with antisemitism during the 12th century. Scholars have disagreed about the role which Christian antisemitism played in the rise of Nazi Germany, World War II, and the Holocaust. The Holocaust forced many Christians to reflect on the role(s) Christian theology and practice played—and still play in—anti-Judaism and antisemitism.