Gorazd Andrejč
PhD Student 
Department of Theology and Religion 
School of Humanities and Social Sciences 
University of Exeter, UK

CONTEMPORATY ROMAN CATHOLIC

AND PROTESTANT VIEWS REGARDING

THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS TO CHRISTIANITY

Summary

In the past ages, the conversion of the Jews was, at least in principle, always welcomed by the Christian side. Yet, ethical awakening after the Holocaust, the new self-critical attitude toward anti-Judaism in Christian theology, and the new perspectives in biblical studies which show that earliest Christianity was an integral part of the first-Century Judaism – all these factors influenced the position of numerous Protestant Churches and the Roman Catholic Church regarding their mission among the Jews. As a result, some Churches (or groups in the Churches) have given up any organized mission to the Jews (for ex. Roman Catholic Church); others defend the priority of dialogue over mission which has to be based on mutual witness to ones own faith; but there are also those who try to convert the Jews with specially designed methods. Although there is more agreement regarding some other Christian positions towards the Jews and Judaism in contemporary Western Churches, the question of mission (and conversion) is one of the most difficult issues in Jewish-Christian relations today and remains an open question.

Key words: Conversion, Judaism, Protestantism, Catholicism