Nostra Aetate: The Church and Non-Christian Religions
By John Graveline, Director of Parish Life
July 19, 2026
“Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.’”
Acts 10:34-38
As we continue to reflect upon the documents of Vatican II at the beginning of the Year of the Holy Spirit, this week we continue to consider the question “How are we as Catholic Christians related to political authorities and non-Catholics?” by exploring Vatican II’s Declaration of the Relations of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (also known by its Latin title Nostra aetate). While this is the shortest of the documents of Vatican II, it has a very powerful message. As we have seen when contemplating other Vatican II documents, it is helpful to view this Declaration in light of its broad historical context.
The sad facts of European history give witness to a deep antisemitism. European Christians would often mistreat, discriminate against, and segregate Jewish people, using the false excuse that “the Jews” had rejected and killed Jesus to justify their prejudice. Jewish people were not allowed to work as guild laborers, so many worked as traders and money lenders—eventually leading to pernicious stereotypes that we sometimes hear even to this day. During the Middle Ages England, France, and Spain completely expelled Jewish people from their nations and Italy segregated them into “ghettoes.” This long history of European antisemitism culminated in the horrors of the Holocaust.
Historical relations between Christians, Muslims, and Jews (the three religions that each in their own way claim Abraham as their father in faith) have been troubled as well. Beginning in the 7th century, Jerusalem and much of what we refer to as the Middle East was under Muslim political control, often leading to persecution of Christian and Jewish residents and excluding them from their holy sites in and around the Holy Land. Throughout the 12th century, Christian crusaders aimed to return the Holy Land to Christian rule. Crusaders and Muslims engaged in horrific battles, such as the Battle of Arsuf in 1191 where forces led by Richard the Lionheart of England defeated those of Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and reportedly the streets “ran with blood up the knees.” For many of the adherents of these Abrahamic faiths, this violence has not been relegated to faraway past but is part of current reality, which we sorrowfully witness on our own news in the 21st century.
Vatican II made the groundbreaking statement that “the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these [non-Christian] religions,” finding in them glimpses of light radiating from Jesus Christ, the Light of the World and source of all truth. (Declaration on the Relations of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, no. 2)
After the massive bloodshed, inhumanity, and genocides of the first half of the 20th century, the bishops at Vatican II sensed a “duty to foster unity and charity among individuals, and even among nations” by focusing the attention of all people on what lies at the roots of human solidarity, especially among people of faith, calling us back to the fundamental truth that all people “form but one community . . . because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth.” (Declaration on the Relations of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, no. 1) We are all fundamentally one because we are all created in the image of our common Creator and Father with the common destiny to love God and one another in fraternal unity.
Vatican II called for a renewed sense of religious liberty and common enrichment by all people. While never wavering in our belief and proclamation that Jesus Christ is the full and unique revelation of God’s love for all and that salvation is found through participation in the eternal life he offers us through his Cross and Resurrection, Vatican II made the groundbreaking statement that “the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,” finding in them glimpses of light radiating from Jesus Christ, the Light of the World and source of all truth. (Declaration on the Relations of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, no. 2) Vatican II expressed “a high regard for Muslims” and recognized that we pray to the same God, called Allah even by Arabic Christians. (Declaration on the Relations of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, no. 3) It also categorically states that the Catholic Church “deplores all hatreds, persecutions, displays of antisemitism leveled at any time or from any source against the Jews,” recognizing their unique role in salvation history as God’s Chosen People, a covenant relationship rooted in God’s unending promise. (Declaration on the Relations of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, no. 4)
My Catholic faith has personally benefitted immeasurably from the truths and insights found in non-Christian faiths. I was fortunate to study for a year under Rabbi David Krishef at Congregation Ahavas Israel in Grand Rapids. By understanding more deeply the riches of Jewish beliefs and practices, I came to better understand the faith lived by Jesus and Mary, thus making me a better Christian. While I was in graduate school, I would bartend on the weekends. My manager at the restaurant was a man named Abdul Said. I could not help but to be inspired by his Muslim faith, his devotion to Allah and his family, and his moral code. He maintained a quiet dignity, even through some dark days after 9/11 when I personally witnessed anti-Muslim bigotry in the Washington DC area. He was an example to me on how to be a father and supervisor who leads by kindness and inspiration, not fear. In undergraduate school, I had a professor named Luna Chou. In her class, I first read this Declaration on Non-Christian Religions as well as classics of Hindu, Taoist, and Buddhist religion. She helped me to recognize the seeds of the Gospel in the wisdom of Eastern Asia’s religious and philosophical traditions. The works of Catholic authors such as John C.H. Wu, Thomas Merton, Shūsaku Endō, as well as Japanese-American artist/author Makoto Fujimura (a Reformed Christian married to a Catholic) have deepened my appreciation of how understanding Asian spirituality can enrich my Catholic spirituality.
May our Catholic faith never become a means to divide and discriminate, but always to “bind together” (the real meaning of the word religion) all people in bonds of love.
May we all continue to seek the truth about God, creation, and the deep relationship of unity in all things and between all people. May our Catholic faith never become a means to divide and discriminate, but always to “bind together” (the real meaning of the word religion) all people in bonds of love as sisters and brothers of our one Father, who loves us all infinitely and unconditionally.
We’ve now concluded our reflections on the question, “How are we as Catholic Christians related to political authorities and non-Catholics?” This upcoming week, we will consider the question of how Latin Rite (“Roman”) Catholics are related to Eastern Rite Catholics by reading the Vatican II document The Decree on the Catholic Eastern Churches (also known by its Latin title Orientalium Ecclesiarum). Click here to read this document on the Vatican website.
John