The year 2025 has witnessed a few significant anniversaries related to religious history. Most notably, this year represents the 1700-year anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed, almost certainly the most defining creedal expression of Christian theology. On October 28th, Catholics, other Christians, and adherents of world religions more generally recognized the sixty-year anniversary of Nostra Aetate, sometimes referred to as the “Magna Carta” of modern interreligious dialogue.

Its historical origins can be traced to the desire of Pope John XXIII (1881-1963) for a doctrinal statement that would better express the mind of the Catholic Church in relation to the Jewish people. In the aftermath of the Second World War, as the horrific realities of the Holocaust were increasingly realized, the need for some attempt at reconciliation between the Christian tradition and Jews and Judaism became urgent. What began as a reflection on Christian-Jewish relations gradually expanded into a broader statement on Christianity and other religions. Nostra Aetate was published on October 28th, 1965, joining fifteen other conciliar statements published in the course of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). A key paragraph from Nostra Aetate about world religions illustrates its basic orientation: 

The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself. The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.

For centuries, the Christian tradition had been hesitant to acknowledge very much authentic spiritual or religious virtue outside the church or the Christian faith. Nostra Aetate marked a clear departure from the trend, even as its precise theological implications continue to be interpreted and debated today. 

Nostra Aetate also directly addressed Muslims in an unprecedented manner:

The Church also regards with esteem the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Muslims, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.

From time to time, I am surprised to meet people who believe that the Catholic Church still offers nothing but rigid condemnation to Muslims or adherents of other religions. In my view, the truth is rather that following the publication of Nostra Aetate, the Catholic Church has been the most important engine for positive and constructive interreligious dialogue in the world. 

The full text of Nostra Aetate can be found here. For a meaningful reflection on Nostra Aetate from a modern Muslim, please see this recent essay authored by my friend, Dr. Zeyneb Sayilgan. 

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo last night. It was a stunning ceremony that beautifully highlighted Egypt’s unique and important role in the development of human civilization.

Matthew Anderson

Director - Center for Arab-West Understanding

Executive Editor - Dialogue Across Borders (De Gruyter Brill)

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November 2, 2025