Education for Shalom

Since Vatican II and the declaration "Nostra Aetate", voices have called for re-examination of how Jews and Judaism are being portrayed in Catholic religion textbooks. As certain New Testament passages are sometimes used to justify anti-semetic viewpoints, the author begins his study with an exploration of the origins and history of Christian anti-Jewish speech, concluding with its renunciation by the post-Vatican II Church. The author also studies available religious education textbooks with a view to: evaluating how well the books deal with topics shown to be problematic in earlier research; assessing the effectiveness of Church statements and theological reflections in the 1976-1991 period; and offering recommendations for future textbook treatments of Jews and Judaism. The two sections combine to offer a guide to religious educators, liturgists, preachers and others seeking to evaluate, select or supplement resources used to educate Catholics. Strengths and weaknesses of recent textbook references to Jews and Judaism are discussed, and lead to several recommendations for catechetical programmes that reflect the views of the Church.
Philip Cunningham is the author of "Jesus and the Evangelists" and "Jewish Apostle to the Gentiles", and is a contributor to "Within Context: Essays on the Presentation of Jews and Judaism in the New Testament".