Council of Christians and Jews
A United Kingdom voluntary organisation that brings Christians and Jews together to oppose antisemitism, racism and religious intolerance.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) is a United Kingdom voluntary organisation dedicated to improving relations between Christians and Jews and challenging antisemitism and other forms of intolerance. It was established during the Second World War, when Nazi persecution and the destruction of European Jewish communities made cooperation between religious and civic leaders an urgent public concern. Its founding brought together senior representatives of Christian and Jewish communities in a national framework intended to promote mutual understanding, oppose discrimination and encourage practical cooperation. The organisation's immediate institutional origins lie in a number of earlier initiatives. Interfaith discussion groups had existed in Britain since the early twentieth century, including the London Society for the Study of Religions and Jewish-Christian discussion initiatives associated with the Presbyterian and Liberal Jewish communities. During the 1930s, as antisemitism intensified in Europe, Christian and Jewish organisations also cooperated in refugee assistance, youth work and efforts to protect Jewish children from persecution and forced religious conversion. These activities helped establish the principle that cooperation should respect the separate religious identities of Jews and Christians rather than seek to erase their differences. Archbishop William Temple began developing a national council in 1941. At a meeting on 20 March 1942, attended by representatives of the relevant communities, the formation of the Council of Christians and Jews was agreed. Chief Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz was a principal Jewish leader in the initiative, while Temple provided central Anglican leadership. The council's stated aims included combating religious and racial intolerance, fostering Christian-Jewish goodwill, encouraging cooperation among Christian and Jewish youth organisations, and supporting joint study and service in the reconstruction of society after the war. Its formation was publicly announced through radio and the press on 1 October 1942. In its early years the CCJ combined public advocacy with educational and interfaith work. It sent deputations to the British Foreign Office concerning reports of the Nazi extermination programme, supported public calls for action and accountability, and encouraged religious leaders to speak against persecution. Temple used his public position, including broadcasts and an address to the House of Lords, to condemn the treatment of Europe's Jews and to urge action against Nazi crimes. The council also issued publications examining the ethical and theological basis of cooperation between Jews and Christians and the responsibilities of religious communities in public life. The CCJ's history reflects both progress and tension in Christian-Jewish relations. In the late 1950s, the Vatican instructed the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales to withdraw from the organisation because of concerns about theological indifferentism. Catholic participation resumed following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, illustrating the changing context in which Jewish-Christian dialogue took place. The council subsequently remained associated with commemorative, educational and anti-prejudice activities, including reflection on Christian responsibility for historic antisemitism. At a 1988 meeting marking the fiftieth anniversary of Kristallnacht, Archbishop Robert Runcie explicitly acknowledged the contribution of centuries of Christian antisemitism to the climate in which Nazi persecution became possible. The CCJ is part of a wider international history of Christian-Jewish cooperation. Contacts developed during the wartime period between British representatives and the American National Conference of Christians and Jews. These contacts contributed to an international conference held in Oxford in 1946, attended by more than one hundred delegates from fifteen countries, and to efforts to establish an International Council of Christians and Jews. The UK council therefore helped connect national interfaith work with a broader post-war movement against antisemitism and religious prejudice. Today, the CCJ remains a UK-based organisation whose work centres on interfaith engagement, education, public understanding and opposition to antisemitism and intolerance. It is not a commercial consumer brand: its identity is that of a civic and religious association whose credibility rests on its history, its cross-community relationships and its public commitment to respectful cooperation. The organisation's patronage was associated with Queen Elizabeth II and subsequently with King Charles III, although the available reference material does not provide a current executive roster or detailed organisational financial information.
History
The Council of Christians and Jews emerged from a long series of British initiatives in religious understanding, refugee assistance and opposition to antisemitism. The London Society for the Study of Religions, founded in 1904, included Jewish members. During the 1920s, Christian bodies began examining the lack of understanding between Christians and Jews and explored cooperation that did not depend on proselytising. Herbert Lowe's address to the Presbyterian Church of England General Assembly in 1925 expressed the ideal that Jews and Christians could work together on the basis of shared ethical commitments while maintaining their distinct religious perspectives. A Society of Jews and Christians developed from Liberal Jewish social-service discussions in 1927, providing a platform for public speakers and dialogue. The worsening political climate of the 1930s gave these efforts a more urgent purpose. Christian scholars such as James Parkes examined the historical roots of antisemitism and the role of Christian attitudes toward Jews. Christian assemblies issued statements condemning Nazi antisemitism, while Jewish and Christian organisations cooperated in refugee assistance. A Youth Council on Jewish-Christian Relations, founded in 1934, brought together Christian and later Jewish groups. After Kristallnacht, the Refugee Children's Movement sought to place Jewish children safely while ensuring that children placed in Christian homes were not subjected to religious conversion and remained connected with Jewish communities. In 1938, Anglican, Free Church and Roman Catholic representatives formed a Christian Council for Refugees. Its secretary, W. W. Simpson, argued that Christian history, including doctrines and practices that had contributed to Jewish suffering, had to be confronted honestly. Archbishop William Temple drew these strands together in 1941 by inviting community leaders to discuss a national organisation. Temple proposed a body that would oppose discrimination and promote ethical teachings shared by Judaism and Christianity. Chief Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz supported the proposal, stressing the danger that antisemitism posed to civilisation and the importance of Christian-Jewish cooperation without interference in one another's religious teaching. On 20 March 1942, a meeting chaired by Temple agreed to create the Council of Christians and Jews. Its formal aims were to oppose religious and racial intolerance, encourage mutual understanding and goodwill, promote fellowship among young people, and support joint study and service connected with post-war reconstruction. The organisation was announced publicly on 1 October 1942. Cardinal Hinsley accepted a joint presidency subject to approval of public statements, demonstrating the intended participation of the major Christian traditions. The council's wartime activity included direct public advocacy. In 1942 it sent deputations to the Foreign Office and to Anthony Eden concerning emerging information about the Nazi extermination process. A letter published in The Times on 5 December condemned the scale of the atrocities and called for those responsible to be prosecuted after the war. Temple also broadcast an appeal to Hungarians through the BBC World Service, urging people to protect Jews threatened by persecution and possible massacre. In March 1943 he addressed the House of Lords, condemning official delay and insisting that Britain had a moral responsibility to respond. The council published its first Occasional Review in November 1943, bringing together Christian and Jewish perspectives on cooperation and peace. In June 1944 it issued a declaration arguing that moral law should govern world order and setting out principles concerning human dignity, rights and protection from persecution. The CCJ also contributed to the development of international interfaith cooperation. During the Blitz, British representatives met members of the American National Conference of Christians and Jews. Their contacts led to an international conference in Oxford in 1946, attended by delegates from fifteen countries. The conference considered European antisemitism, sent a resolution to the Paris Peace Conference and began work toward an International Council of Christians and Jews. The British council thus formed part of an expanding post-war network concerned with religious understanding, democratic ethics and the prevention of racial hatred. Institutional relationships were not always straightforward. In late 1954, the Vatican directed the senior Catholic leader in England and Wales to resign from the CCJ because of concerns about theological indifferentism. Catholic participation returned after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, when the Roman Catholic Church adopted a more developed approach to relations with Judaism and other religions. The episode illustrates the changing theological boundaries of interfaith work in the period after the war. Later CCJ activity included remembrance, education and critical examination of Christian history. At a 1988 meeting marking fifty years since Kristallnacht, Archbishop Robert Runcie acknowledged that Nazi antisemitism had been amplified by centuries of Christian hostility and that Christians could not claim ignorance or complete detachment from the history of persecution. This type of institutional self-criticism became an important part of the council's public role. The CCJ continues as a UK voluntary organisation seeking to build Christian-Jewish understanding and to oppose antisemitism and intolerance. The available source material does not provide a complete current leadership list, detailed programme catalogue or financial information.
- 1988
Kristallnacht anniversary addressed
[1]Robert Runcie used a CCJ commemoration to acknowledge the historical contribution of Christian antisemitism to the conditions surrounding the Holocaust.
- 1954
Catholic participation suspended
[1]The Vatican instructed the senior Catholic leader in England to withdraw because of theological concerns; participation resumed after the Second Vatican Council.
- 1946
Oxford international conference held
[1]Delegates from fifteen countries met to address antisemitism and develop international Christian-Jewish cooperation.
- 1944
Declaration on moral law and world order issued
[1]The CCJ published a declaration asserting that moral law should guide post-war international order and human rights.
- 1943
First Occasional Review published
[1]The council began publishing material on the ethical and theological basis of cooperation between Christians and Jews.
- 1942
Council of Christians and Jews founded
[1]The organisation was agreed at a meeting on 20 March and publicly announced on 1 October.
- 1941
National council proposed
[1]William Temple invited religious leaders to discuss a national organisation opposing discrimination and strengthening Christian-Jewish cooperation.
- 1938
Christian Council for Refugees formed
[1]Anglican, Free Church and Roman Catholic bodies formed a council responding to refugee needs after the passage of the Nuremberg Decrees and the escalation of Nazi persecution.
- 1934
Youth Council on Jewish-Christian Relations formed
[1]Christian organisations created a youth-focused forum that later included Jewish groups.
- 1927
Society of Jews and Christians develops
[1]A platform for Jewish-Christian discussion and public lectures emerged from earlier social-service work.
Products and positioning
A non-commercial, UK-wide interfaith organisation positioned around Christian-Jewish understanding, opposition to antisemitism and other discrimination, and cooperation in education, community life and public ethics.
Religious and community engagement · 1942
Interfaith dialogue
The CCJ facilitates structured contact between Christian and Jewish communities, focusing on mutual understanding, respectful theological exchange and practical cooperation. This work is the organisation's central offering and reflects its founding principle that shared ethical concerns can support collaboration without requiring either community to surrender its distinct beliefs.
Education · 1942
Education and antisemitism awareness
Educational activity addresses antisemitism, racism, religious intolerance and the history of Christian-Jewish relations. The organisation's historical work has included public statements, publications, commemorations and discussion of Christian responsibility for antisemitic traditions.
Youth and community programmes · 1942
Youth and cultural cooperation
The council's founding aims included fellowship between Christian and Jewish youth organisations through educational and cultural activity. The available references establish this as a core area of purpose but do not provide a current programme list.
Public affairs · 1942
Public advocacy and commemorative events
The CCJ has used public advocacy, statements, religious leaders' interventions and historical commemorations to oppose persecution and encourage recognition of human dignity. Wartime appeals concerning Nazi crimes and later Kristallnacht commemorations illustrate this role.
Marketing campaigns
- 1988Kristallnacht fiftieth-anniversary commemoration
United Kingdom
The CCJ used the fiftieth anniversary of Kristallnacht to promote historical responsibility and confront the role of Christian antisemitism in the development of anti-Jewish persecution.
Outcome. The event reinforced the council's emphasis on remembrance, institutional self-examination and education against antisemitism.
- 1943Appeal to the Hungarian people
Hungary · United Kingdom
At the CCJ's request, William Temple used a BBC World Service broadcast to urge people in Hungary to protect Jews threatened by persecution and help them escape where possible.
Outcome. The broadcast represented a high-profile religious appeal for protection of Jews during the Holocaust; the available source does not quantify its direct impact.
- 1942Wartime advocacy against Nazi persecution
United Kingdom · Europe
The newly formed council raised emerging reports of the Nazi extermination process with British officials, supported a public letter demanding action and accountability, and encouraged religious leaders to speak directly against persecution.
Outcome. The campaign made the persecution of Jews a prominent concern in the council's wartime public identity, although the available material does not document a specific policy result.
Brand decisions
1954
Managed the withdrawal of Roman Catholic participationStrategyBackground
The Vatican judged the council's interfaith approach to raise concerns about theological indifferentism.
Action taken
The senior Catholic leader in England was instructed to resign from the CCJ.
Aftermath
Catholic participation later resumed following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
1946
Supported international expansion of Christian-Jewish cooperationStrategyBackground
Contacts between British and American interfaith organisations during the war created an opportunity for coordinated international action after the conflict.
Action taken
The CCJ participated in the movement that convened the Oxford conference and explored an International Council of Christians and Jews.
Aftermath
The UK council became connected to a wider international network addressing antisemitism and religious prejudice.
1942
Adopted a national interfaith cooperation mandateStrategyBackground
The organisation was created during wartime persecution and sought to oppose both religious and racial intolerance while supporting post-war reconstruction.
Action taken
The founding aims combined public opposition to discrimination with dialogue, youth cooperation, joint study and social service.
Aftermath
This combination of advocacy and relationship-building became the defining operating model of the CCJ.
Sources2 sources
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