Editing Religious antisemitism (section)

==Christian antisemitism==
{{main article|Antisemitism in Christianity}}
Christian religious antisemitism is often expressed as [[anti-Judaism]] (i.e., it is argued that the antipathy is to the practices of [[Judaism]]). As such, it is argued, antisemitism would cease if Jews stopped practicing or changed their public faith, especially by [[Religious conversion|converting]] to Christianity. However, there have been times when converts were also discriminated against, as in the case of the liturgical exclusion of Jewish converts, which occurred during the late 15th and 16th centuries, when Christianized ''[[Marranos]]'' or Iberian Jews were accused of secretly practicing Judaism or Jewish customs.<ref>See, for example, Flannery, Edward H. ''The Anguish of the Jews: Twenty-Three Centuries of Antisemitism'', Stimulus Books, first published 1985, this edition 2004.</ref>

===New Testament and antisemitism===
{{Main article|Antisemitism and the New Testament}}
Frederick Schweitzer and Marvin Perry write that the authors of the gospel account sought to place responsibility for the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]] and his death on Jews rather than the Roman emperor or [[Pontius Pilate]].<ref>Perry & Schweitzer (2002), pp. 27, 35.</ref> As a result, Christians for centuries viewed Jews as "the [[Jewish deicide|Christ Killers]]".<ref name=Perry2002p18>Perry & Schweitzer (2002), p. 18.</ref> The destruction of the [[Second Temple]] was seen as a judgment from God to the Jews for that death,<ref>Richardson (1986), p. 23</ref> and Jews were seen as "a people condemned forever to suffer exile and degradation".<ref name=Perry2002p18/> According to historian [[Edward H. Flannery]], the [[Gospel of John]] in particular contains many verses that refer to Jews in a pejorative manner.<ref>Flannery (2004) p. 33.</ref>

In {{bibleverse|1|Thessalonians|2:14–16|31}}, [[Paul (apostle)|Paul]] states that the Churches in Judea had been persecuted by the Jews who killed Jesus and that such people displease God, oppose all men, and had prevented Paul from speaking to the gentile nations concerning the New Testament message. Described by [[Hyam Maccoby]] as "the most explicit outburst against Jews in Paul's Epistles",<ref name=Maccoby203>[[Hyam Maccoby]], ''The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity'', [[Harper & Row]], 1986, {{ISBN|0-06-015582-5}}, p. 203.</ref> these verses have repeatedly been employed for antisemitic purposes. Maccoby views it as one of Paul's innovations responsible for creating Christian antisemitism, though he notes that some have argued these particular verses are later interpolations not written by Paul.<ref name=Maccoby203/> [[Craig Blomberg]] claims that viewing them as antisemitic is a mistake, but "understandable in light of [Paul's] harsh words". In his view, Paul is not condemning all Jews forever, but merely those he believed had specifically persecuted the prophets, Jesus, or the 1st-century church. Blomberg sees Paul's words here as no different in kind than the harsh words the prophets of the Old Testament have for the Jews.<ref>[[Craig Blomberg]], ''From Pentecost to Patmos: An Introduction to Acts Through Revelation'', [[B&H Publishing Group]], 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-8054-3248-0}}, p. 144.</ref>

The [[Codex Sinaiticus]] contains two extra books in the New Testament—the [[Shepherd of Hermas]] and the [[Epistle of Barnabas]].<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|title=The rival to the Bible|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7651105.stm|work=BBC News|author=Roger Bolton|date=October 6, 2008|access-date=January 1, 2010}}</ref> The latter emphasizes the claim that it was the Jews, not the Romans, who killed Jesus and is full of antisemitism.<ref name="bbc"/> The Epistle of Barnabas was not accepted as part of the canon; Professor [[Bart Ehrman]] has stated, "the suffering of Jews in the subsequent centuries would, if possible, have been even worse had the Epistle of Barnabas remained".<ref name="bbc"/>

===Early Christianity===
Many early and influential Church works—such as the dialogues of [[Justin Martyr]], the homilies of [[John Chrysostom]], and the testimonies of the church father [[Cyprian]]—are strongly anti-Jewish.

During a discussion on the celebration of [[Easter]] during the [[First Council of Nicaea]] in 325 CE, Roman emperor [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]] said,<ref name="Eusebius">[[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]]. [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/25023.htm "Life of Constantine (Book III)"], 337 CE. Retrieved March 12, 2006.</ref> <blockquote> ... it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul. ... Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Saviour a different way.</blockquote>

Prejudice against Jews in the [[Roman Empire]] was formalized in 438, when the ''Code of [[Theodosius II]]'' established Christianity as the only legal religion in the Roman Empire. The [[Justinian Code]] a century later stripped Jews of many of their rights, and Church councils throughout the 6th and 7th centuries, including the Council of Orleans, further enforced anti-Jewish provisions. These restrictions began as early as 305, when, in Elvira (now [[Granada]]), a Spanish town in [[Andalucia]], the first known laws of any church council against Jews appeared. Christian women were forbidden to marry Jews unless the betrothed Jewish male first converted to Catholicism. Jews were forbidden to extend hospitality to Catholics. Jews could not keep Catholic Christian [[concubine]]s and were forbidden to bless the fields of Catholics. In 589, in Catholic [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], the [[Third Council of Toledo]] ordered that children born of a marriage between Jews and Catholics be baptized by force. By the Twelfth Council of Toledo (681), a policy of forced conversion of all Jews was initiated (Liber Judicum, II.2 as given in Roth).<ref name=Roth>Roth, A. M. Roth, and Roth, Norman. ''Jews, Visigoths and Muslims in Medieval Spain'', Brill Academic, 1994.</ref> Thousands fled, and others converted to Roman Catholicism.

====Accusations of deicide====
{{Main article|Jewish deicide}}
Although never a part of [[Christianity|Christian]] [[dogma]], many Christians, including members of the [[clergy]], held the Jewish people under an [[antisemitic canard]] to be [[collective guilt|collectively responsible]] for [[deicide]], the [[Jewish deicide|killing of Jesus]], who they believed was the son of God.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/magazine/documents/ju_mag_01111997_p-31_en.html|title=Nostra Aetate: a milestone - Pier Francesco Fumagalli}}</ref>  According to this interpretation, some Christian traditions historically attributed responsibility for Jesus’ death to the Jewish people present at the time, as well as collectively over generations, labeling it as the sin of deicide, or God-killing. This belief played a significant role in fueling antisemitic attitudes and actions in various Christian societies throughout history.<ref>Perry & Schweitzer (2002), p. 26.</ref>

[[Passion play]]s are dramatic stagings representing the trial and death of [[Jesus]], and they have historically been used in remembrance of Jesus' death during [[Lent]]. These plays historically blamed the Jews for the death of Jesus in a [[polemic]]al fashion, depicting a crowd of Jewish people condemning Jesus to death by [[crucifixion]] and a Jewish leader assuming eternal [[collective guilt]] for the crowd for the murder of Jesus, which, ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' explains, "for centuries prompted vicious attacks—or [[pogrom]]s—on Europe's Jewish communities".<ref name=Sennott>Sennott, Charles M.[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/04/10/in_poland_new_passion_plays_on_old_hatreds/ "In Poland, new 'Passion' plays on old hatreds"], ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', April 10, 2004.</ref>

====Blood libel====
{{main article|Blood libel}}
[[File:Sandomierz katedra - mord rytualny.jpg|thumb|Painting in [[Sandomierz Cathedral]], Poland, depicts Jews murdering Christian children for their blood, ~ 1750]]
Blood libels are false accusations that Jews use human blood in religious [[rituals]].<ref>"Blood Accusation", Jewish Encyclopedia, retrieved 7 May 2007.[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1173&letter=B Jewish Encyclopedia]</ref> Historically, these are accusations that the blood of [[Christians|Christian]] children is especially coveted. In many cases, blood libels served as the basis for a blood libel [[cult]], in which the alleged victim of human sacrifice was elevated to the status of a [[martyr]] and, in some cases, [[canonized]].

Although the first known instance of a blood libel is found in the writings of [[Apion]], who claimed that the Jews sacrificed [[Greeks|Greek]] victims in the Temple, no further incidents are recorded until the 12th century when blood libels began to proliferate. These libels have persisted from then through the 21st century.<ref>"The World: Saudi Editor Retracts Article That Defamed Jews", Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2003, fetched 19 the April 2008, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110524212539/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/110674395.html?dids=110674395:110674395&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+20,+2002&author=MICHAEL+SLACKMAN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=A.3&desc=The+World%3B+Saudi+Editor+Retracts+Article+That+Defamed+Jews]</ref>

In the modern era, the blood libel continues to be a major aspect of antisemitism. It has extended its reach to accuse Jews of many different forms of harm that can be carried out against other people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://antisemitism.uk/recognising-antisemitism/blood-libel/|title=Recognising Antisemitism: Blood Libel|date=2016-02-15|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-07-23}}</ref>

===Medieval and Renaissance Europe===
{{Main article|Medieval antisemitism|History of European Jews in the Middle Ages}}
Antisemitism was widespread in Europe during the [[Middle Ages]]. In those times, the main cause of prejudice against Jews in Europe was the religious one. Although not part of [[Roman Catholic]] [[dogma]], many Christians, including members of the [[clergy]], held the Jewish people [[collective guilt|collectively responsible]] for the death of Jesus, a practice originated by [[Melito of Sardis]].

Among socio-economic factors were restrictions by the authorities. Local rulers and church officials closed the doors for many professions to the Jews, pushing them into occupations considered socially inferior such as accounting, rent-collecting, and [[moneylending]], which was tolerated then as a "[[consequentialism|necessary evil]]".<ref name=Paley>Paley, Susan and Koesters, Adrian Gibbons, eds. {{cite web|url=http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/pdf/ViewersGuide.pdf |title=A Viewer's Guide to Contemporary Passion Plays |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301033826/http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/pdf/ViewersGuide.pdf |archive-date=2011-03-01}}&nbsp;{{small|(74.4&nbsp;KB)}}. Retrieved March 12, 2006.</ref> During the [[Black Death]], Jews were accused of being the cause and were often killed.<ref name="Black">See Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, ''La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire'' ("The greatest epidemics in history"), in ''[[L'Histoire]]'' magazine, n°310, June 2006, p.47 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> There were expulsions of Jews from England, France, Germany, Portugal and [[Antisemitism in Spain|Spain]] during the Middle Ages as a result of antisemitism.<ref>{{cite book |title=Holocaust and Return to Zion: A Study in Jewish Philosophy of History |last=Spero |first=Shubert |year=2000 |publisher=KTAV Publishing House, Inc. |isbn=0-88125-636-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/holocaustreturnt00shub/page/164 164] |url=https://archive.org/details/holocaustreturnt00shub/page/164}}</ref>

[[File:Judensau Frankfurt.jpg|thumb|left|18th century Frankfurt Judensau]]
German for "Jews' sow", ''[[Judensau]]'' was the derogatory and dehumanizing imagery of Jews that appeared around the 13th century. Its popularity lasted for over 600 years and was revived by the Nazis. The Jews, typically portrayed in [[obscene]] contact with [[unclean animals]] such as pigs or owls or representing a [[devil]], appeared on [[cathedral]] or [[church (building)|church]] ceilings, pillars, utensils, etchings, etc. Often, the images combined several antisemitic motifs and included derisive prose or poetry.
<blockquote>"Dozens of Judensaus... intersect with the portrayal of the Jew as a Christ killer. Various illustrations of the murder of [[Simon of Trent]] blended images of Judensau, the devil, the murder of little Simon himself, and the [[Crucifixion]]. In the 17th-century engraving from Frankfurt...<ref>Cohen's book includes an earlier variation of the same image.</ref> a well-dressed, very contemporary-looking Jew has mounted the sow backward and holds her tail, while a second Jew sucks at her milk and a third eats her feces. The horned devil, himself wearing a [[Yellow badge|Jewish badge]], looks on and the butchered Simon, splayed as if on a cross, appears on a panel above."<ref>Jeremy Cohen (2007): ''Christ Killers: The Jews and the Passion from the Bible to the Big Screen.'' Oxford University Press. p.208 {{ISBN|0-19-517841-6}}</ref></blockquote>

In [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Merchant of Venice]]'', considered to be one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time, the villain [[Shylock]] was a Jewish moneylender. By the end of the play, he is mocked on the streets after his daughter elopes with a Christian. Shylock, then, compulsorily converts to Christianity as a part of a deal gone wrong. This has raised profound implications regarding Shakespeare and antisemitism.<ref>[http://www.berens.org/tikkun.html On Beyond Shylock] by Bradley S. Berens</ref>

During the Middle Ages, the story of Jephonias,<ref>[http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/pilgr/sources/TransVirginis.html#46 Transitus or Dormitio Virginis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629004339/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/pilgr/sources/TransVirginis.html#46 |date=2011-06-29}}, the original 5th or 6th century text</ref> the Jew who tried to overturn Mary's funeral bier, changed from his converting to Christianity into his simply having his hands cut off by an angel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sicsa.huji.ac.il/99an2a.html|title=Discussion|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721133805/http://sicsa.huji.ac.il/99an2a.html|archive-date=2011-07-21}}</ref>

[[File:Descreationofhost.gif|thumb|right|A 15th-century German woodcut showing an alleged host desecration.<br />''1:'' the hosts are stolen<br />''2:'' the hosts bleed when pierced by a Jew<br />''3:'' the Jews are arrested<br />''4:'' they are burned alive.]]
On many occasions, Jews were subjected to [[blood libel against Jews|blood libels]], false accusations of drinking the blood of Christian children in mockery of the Christian [[Eucharist]].
Jews were subject to a wide range of legal restrictions throughout the Middle Ages, some of which lasted until the end of the 19th century. Jews were excluded from many trades, the occupations of which varied with place and time and were determined by the influence of various non-Jewish competing interests. Often, Jews were barred from all occupations except money-lending and peddling, with even these at times forbidden.

===19th century===
{{See also|Antisemitism in Christianity|Christianity and Judaism|Catholic Church and Judaism|Protestantism and Judaism}}
[[File:proper hands.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Branford Clarke]] illustration of the [[Ku Klux Klan|KKK]] against both [[Antisemitism in Christianity|Jews]] and [[Anti-Catholicism|Catholics]] in [[Heroes of the Fiery Cross]] by Bishop [[Alma White]] 1928 Published by the [[Pillar of Fire Church]] in [[Zarephath, New Jersey]]]]
Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century, the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] still incorporated strong antisemitic elements, despite increasing attempts to separate [[anti-Judaism]], the opposition to the Jewish religion on religious grounds, and [[racial antisemitism]]. [[Pope Pius VII]] (1800–1823) had the walls of the Jewish [[Ghetto]] in Rome rebuilt after the Jews were [[Napoleon and the Jews|released by Napoleon]], and Jews were restricted to the Ghetto through the end of the Papal States in 1870.

Additionally, official organizations such as the [[Jesuits]] banned candidates "who are descended from the Jewish race unless it is clear that their father, grandfather, and great-grandfather have belonged to the Catholic Church" until 1946. Brown University historian [[David Kertzer]], working from the Vatican archive, has further argued in his book ''[[The Popes Against the Jews]]'' that in the 19th century and early 20th century, the Church adhered to a distinction between "good antisemitism" and "bad antisemitism".

The "bad" kind promoted hatred of Jews because of their descent. This was considered un-Christian because the Christian message was intended for all of humanity regardless of ethnicity; anyone could become a Christian. The "good" kind criticized alleged Jewish conspiracies to control newspapers, banks, and other institutions, to care only about the accumulation of wealth, etc. Many Catholic bishops wrote articles criticizing Jews on such grounds and, when accused of promoting hatred of Jews, would remind people that they condemned the "bad" kind of antisemitism. Kertzer's work is not, therefore, without critics; the scholar of Jewish-Christian relations [[Rabbi David G. Dalin]], for example, criticized Kertzer in the ''[[Weekly Standard]]'' for using evidence selectively.

===The Holocaust===
{{further|Martin Luther and antisemitism}}
The Nazis used [[Martin Luther]]'s book, ''[[On the Jews and Their Lies]]'' (1543), to [[Luther and antisemitism#Use by the Nazis|claim]] a moral righteousness for their ideology. Luther seems to advocate the murder of those Jews who refused to convert to Christianity, writing that "we are at fault in not slaying them"<ref>Luther, Martin. ''On the Jews and Their'' ''Lies'', cited in Robert.Michael. "Luther, Luther Scholars, and the Jews,"''Encounter'' 46 (Autumn 1985) No.4.343–344</ref>

Archbishop [[Robert Runcie]] has asserted that: "Without centuries of Christian antisemitism, Hitler's passionate hatred would never have been so fervently echoed...because for centuries Christians have held Jews collectively responsible for the death of [[Jesus]]. On Good Friday Jews, have in times past, cowered behind locked doors with fear of a Christian mob seeking 'revenge' for deicide. Without the poisoning of Christian minds through the centuries, the Holocaust is unthinkable."<ref>"''After the evil: Christianity and Judaism in the shadow of the Holocaust"'', Richard Harries, p. 21, Oxford University Press, 2003</ref> The dissident Catholic priest [[Hans Küng]] has written in his book ''On Being a Christian'' that "Nazi anti-Judaism was the work of godless, anti-Christian criminals. But it would not have been possible without the almost two thousand years' pre-history of 'Christian' anti-Judaism..."<ref>Hans Küng, ''On Being a Christian'' (Doubleday, Garden City NY, 1976), p. 169.</ref>

The document [[Dabru Emet]] was issued by many American Jewish scholars in 2000 as a statement about Jewish-Christian relations. This document states,<blockquote>
Nazism was not a Christian phenomenon. Without the long history of Christian anti-Judaism and Christian violence against Jews, Nazi ideology could not have taken hold nor could it have been carried out. Too many Christians participated in, or were sympathetic to, Nazi atrocities against Jews. Other Christians did not protest sufficiently against these atrocities. But Nazism itself was not an inevitable outcome of Christianity.</blockquote>

According to American [[historian]] [[Lucy Dawidowicz]], antisemitism has a long history within Christianity. The line of "antisemitic descent" from Luther, the author of ''On the Jews and Their Lies'', to Hitler is "easy to draw". In her ''[[The War Against the Jews]], 1933-1945'', she contends that Luther and Hitler were obsessed with the "demonologized universe" inhabited by Jews. Dawidowicz writes that the similarities between Luther's anti-Jewish writings and modern antisemitism are no coincidence because they derived from a common history of ''Judenhass'', which can be traced to [[Haman (Bible)|Haman's]] advice to [[Ahasuerus]]. Although modern German antisemitism also has its roots in German [[nationalism]] and the [[liberalism|liberal]] revolution of 1848, [[Christianity|Christian]] antisemitism, she writes, is a foundation that was laid by the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and "upon which Luther built".<ref>''The War Against the Jews, 1933-1945''. First published 1975; this Bantam edition 1986, p.23. {{ISBN|0-553-34532-X}}</ref> Dawidowicz's allegations and positions are criticized and not accepted by most historians, however. For example, in ''Studying the Jew'' Alan Steinweis notes that, "Old-fashioned antisemitism, Hitler argued, was insufficient, and would lead only to pogroms, which contribute little to a permanent solution. This is why, Hitler maintained, it was important to promote 'an antisemitism of reason,' one that acknowledged the racial basis of Jewry."<ref>(Studying the Jew: Scholarly Antisemitism in Nazi Germany by Alan Steinweis :8)</ref> Interviews with Nazis by other historians show that the Nazis thought that their views were rooted in biology, not historical prejudices. For example, "S. became a missionary for this biomedical vision... As for anti-Semitic attitudes and actions, he insisted that 'the racial question... [and] resentment of the Jewish race... had nothing to do with medieval anti-Semitism...' That is, it was all a matter of scientific biology and of community."<ref>(The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide by Robert Lifton :130)</ref>

===Post-Holocaust===
The [[Second Vatican Council]], the ''[[Nostra aetate]]'' document, and the efforts of [[Pope John Paul II]] helped reconcile Jews and Catholicism in recent decades, however. According to Catholic Holocaust scholar [[Michael Phayer]], the Church as a whole recognized its failings during the council, when it corrected the traditional beliefs of the Jews having committed deicide and affirmed that they remained [[Jews as the chosen people|God's chosen people]].<ref>"''Pius XII, The Holocaust and the Cold War''", Indiana University Press, p. 252, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-253-34930-9}}</ref>

In 1994, the Church Council of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]], the largest [[Lutheran]] denomination in the United States and a member of the [[Lutheran World Federation]] publicly [[Luther and antisemitism#Recent Lutheran Church responses|rejected]] Luther's antisemitic writings.