Breaking Barriers, Building Bonds: 60 Years of Interfaith Dialogue After Nostra Aetate

This event marks the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the landmark declaration of the Second Vatican Council that transformed Catholic relations with Judaism and other world religions. The event will explore the enduring legacy of interfaith dialogue and the ongoing relevance of Nostra Aetate for Jewish-Christian relations today. This conversation will highlight both historical breakthroughs and contemporary challenges in interfaith engagement, inviting scholars, students, and community members to reflect on how barriers were broken and bonds built through dialogue, and how the lessons of Nostra Aetate remain vital for fostering mutual respect and understanding today. Marc Zvi Brettler Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor in Judaic Studies at Duke University, Marc Brettler is a leading scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish-Christian relations. He is co-editor of The Jewish Study Bible and The Jewish Annotated New Testament, and co-author of The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently. Brettler's research spans biblical metaphors, Psalms, and the reception of the Hebrew Bible in later traditions. He is also co-founder of TheTorah.com, a widely read platform for academic biblical scholarship. Peter Casarella, Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School, specializes in systematic theology, world religions, and intercultural Catholic thought. Before joining Duke in 2020, he taught at the University of Notre Dame and DePaul University, where he founded the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology. His scholarship includes work on medieval Christian Neoplatonism, theological aesthetics, and the Hispanic/Latino presence in the U.S. Catholic Church. Casarella has published extensively on global Catholicism and interreligious dialogue. Daniel M. Herskowitz is the Smart Family Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Duke University. Before this he was a research fellow and lecturer at the University of Oxford. He is the author of two books, Heidegger and His Jewish Reception (Cambridge), and The Judeo-Christian Thought of Franz Rosenzweig (The British Academy). He is the editor of Hans Jonas: The Early Years (Routledge) and Studies on the Jewish Experience (Brill). He is currently writing a book on the history and politics of Nostra Aetate. Reception at 4:30PM, lecture at 5:00PM. Cosponsored by Fons Vitae at Duke Divinity.