Contempt to Esteem: A Prehistory of the Vatican II Revolution in Teaching re Jews & Judaism

This course will examine the context, culturally, theologically and historically of how the Roman Catholic Church wascompelled to denounce certain contemptuous teachings regarding Jews and Judaism as well as to clarify and embrace the role of Israel in salvation history. This course also has relevance for religious studies in general. What the dramatic evolution of Catholic teaching on Judaism and the Jews illustrates is the dynamic character of religious traditions. Notwithstanding an impulse to be faithful to the truth upon which they were founded, religious traditions are nonethelesscapable of responding in innovating ways to cultural changes and historical events.