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Interreligious Affairs

The goal of the Chicago Chapter's Interreligious Affairs Commission is to promote communication and improved relationships between Jews and other faith communities. The relationships must be built on honest recognition of our differences as well as our similarities, and on an understanding of the issues which motivate and concern Jews.

Some examples of our interreligious work include:

Institute for Catholic-Jewish Education The Institute was founded and is jointly sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and the Sisters of Sion, a Catholic religious order of women, to promote a relationship of mutual respect between Jews and Catholics. Through dialogue and education, we provide unique opportunities for each community to deepen its own self-understanding, to encounter the richness of each tradition, and to explore new ways of working with the other on common goals.

Partnered Program in Catholic Grade Schools and Religious Education Programs This program includes classroom sessions for K-8, inservice for teachers, and field trips to a synagogue or Spertus Museum. Each session is designed to give students and teachers an experience of Jews and Judaism and is given jointly by a Jewish and Catholic educator.

Exchange Program with Spertus Museum A special tour for Catholic schools, grades 5-8, of Jewish artifacts and ritual items at Spertus Museum given jointly by a Jewish and Catholic educator.

Catholic/Jewish Education Enrichment Project C/JEEP brings a rabbi into Catholic high schools to teach Judaism and a Catholic educator into Jewish schools to explain Christianity. Established with a grant from the Steven Spielberg Righteous Persons Foundation, C/JEEP broadens the understanding of Catholic youth of the roots of their tradition and introduces them to modern Judaism. The program enables Jewish youngsters to go beyond old stereotypes of what Catholics believe about Jews and Judaism.

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Chicago Chapter
P. 312-251-8800 | F. 312-251-8815 Chicago@ajc.org