An unparalleled spirit of cooperation among Protestants, Catholics and Jews in this country, in the face of the threats presented by the totalitarian states, was stressed by Dr. Everett R. Clinchy, director of the national conference of Christians and Jews in his annual report. Dr. Clinchy cited the recent widespread protests by American churches against Nazi persecution of Christians and Jews, and the participation of churches and synagogues in thousands of communities in a day of prayer for the oppressed, as evidence that “a new and glorious chapter in interfaith relations in the United States has been written.”
He said members of all faiths were increasingly uniting against “political party machines, led by Nazi Hitler, communist Stalin, and fascist Mussolini,” which “deny the sovereignty of God above all else, pour contempt on the spiritual values of the Judeao-Christian tradition, and refuse to recognize those natural rights of freedom of conscience, freedom of church, press, of pulpit, and of religious organizational work. The Munich peace pact, Dr. Clinchy said, makes cooperation among Protestants, Catholics and Jews more urgent than ever before because the pact “for the first time brings racism into the field of international policy.”
Plans are in preparation for enlarging the work of the N.C.J.C. in colleges and universities, Dr. Clinchy reported. He said round table groups of students of the three faiths would be formed in educational institutions throughout the country and that the organization would stimulate the initiation or development of courses of study directly bearing upon the maintenance of a “true democracy of differing cultures” in the United States.
An example of inter-faith cooperation was afforded when more than 20 Pythian lodges in Brooklyn joined in sponsoring a series of Sunday night functions for the benefit of the joint Distribution committee.
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.
