A call for a frank discussion between Protestants, Catholics and Jews of issues on which they differ was issued here today by Dr. Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress. Addressing a public meeting, he said that better inter-religious relations can result only from a candid discussion of where and why the major faiths differ.
“Real understanding among the major religious faiths in our country cannot be achieved by blurring the honest differences between us,” Dr. Prinz declared. “It can only come if we sit down together in our local communities–Jew and Christian alike–both to examine the major issues on which we differ and to work together in those causes which we hold in common.”
Dr. Prinz listed three major causes of inter-religious conflict in America today: 1. Religion in the public schools; 2. Sunday laws; 3. Interreligious adoption. In each of these issues, he said, there are real differences between Protestants, Catholics and Jews involving basic issues of church-state separation and religious freedom. “By shutting our eyes to these differences or pretending they do not exist, we can neither resolve them nor avoid conflict,” he declared.
“There is a serious lack of communication among the major religious faiths in America today, based in part on the fact that in our relations with one another we have tended to emphasize the common heritage we share, rather than the areas which divide us,” he continued. “This form of ‘accentuating the positive,’ however, is neither healthy nor productive. It is unhealthy because it smothers real issues on which Americans can honestly differ. It is unproductive because instead of meeting the problems it avoids them
“In fact, it is the absence of communication among the major religious faiths on issues that divide them that is the cause of much of the misunderstanding, tension and hostility that does exist,” the American Jewish leader said. He called for the establishment on a local level of forums at which the differences between religions on current social issues can be discussed and at which each religious group will have the opportunity to present its viewpoints to the others.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
