Origins and Evolution of Anti-Semitism: Religion to Race

Introduction: Multiple Roots of Anti-Semitism

When discussing the way that anti-Semitism originated, it is crucial to note that this sentiment manifested itself in a number of different realms of life. Specifically, these include religious, political, economic, and scientific areas of thought and study. As this list implies, the most prominent of the factors that shaped the beginning of the anti-Semitic movement began with religion. It is perhaps one of life's great ironies that Jesus Christ was Jewish. He was crucified by the Romans, who later — for political reasons — embraced Christianity in the centuries following the death of Christ. In order to propagate this religion within the Holy Roman Empire and around the world, it was necessary to shift blame for the crucifixion of Christ away from the Roman Empire that was now promulgating the religion named after him. The most effective way to do so was to blame another group for that death. That blame shifted to the Jews, despite the fact that Christ was himself Jewish and a practitioner of this faith.

Religious and Political Origins in the Roman Empire

It is equally important to understand the political ramifications and motives of this tactic. The emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Holy Roman Empire, as manifested in both its Eastern and Western branches. Politically, Christianity was used to unify the empire and to help it expand into further territories as the Romans attempted to conquer as much of Europe as they could. This expansion was carried out largely at the expense of Jewish people, who were blamed for the death of Christ and generally vilified as a way to make Christianity and Christians appear to be the righteous side.

After the crucifixion of Christ, there were both Jews and Christians in Jerusalem and in the surrounding area controlled by Rome. The surviving Christians were able to ensure their survival and the continuance of their religion by forming a political alliance with Rome — an alliance that did not include Jews, and that would soon lead to the active persecution of Jewish communities.

Economic Persecution in the Middle Ages

There were several different ways that anti-Semitism changed following the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. In some respects, the nature of anti-Semitism transformed significantly. Whereas during the height of the Roman Empire anti-Semitism was generally driven by religious and political persecution, afterward Jewish persecution expanded into the realms of economics and science. This was clearly demonstrated in the economic sphere during the Middle Ages, when Jews were forced out of many trades throughout Europe and widely adopted money-lending as a result. A stigma soon attached itself to these communities — that they were greedy and usurious — a perception that persisted throughout Europe and Westernized culture for centuries.

Conclusion

Politically, virtually every major nation-state in Europe — especially those in Western Europe such as France, Spain, England, and Germany — propagated anti-Semitic practices based on political concerns. They sought to limit the influence that Jewish communities held within their societies and, in some instances, across the world. They largely expressed this form of anti-Semitism by expelling those of Jewish descent from within their borders. The primary advocates of scientific anti-Semitism were Germans, particularly at the turn of the twentieth century. They sought ways to justify persecution of Jewish people through racialism, which gave them an ideological excuse not merely to expel these communities but to attempt to exterminate them entirely.