Does the Church have any teachings on what we should call Jewish teachers and other religions teachers?

  • Thread starter Thread starter HeadingBackHome
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

HeadingBackHome

Guest
Hello, I’ve been thinking about this subject for some time and I wonder how we shall talk/ refer to teachers of other religions.
I mean, If I’m refering to a Jewish teacher as Rabbi isn’t that to call him a master, I mean master is the translation of Rabbi and Should I not avoid to refer to teachers of other religions with that kind of acknowledge?

The same applies when talking to other religious leaders of course, I just used the Judaism as an example.

Is there any guidelines for us Catholics on this particular matter?

Thanks in advance for any answers I may receive,
  • Pax Christi
 
The word “master” has multiple meanings. When “rabbi” is translated into “master”, it doesn’t mean like a master of slaves or a boss or something like that. Basically, you are respecting that the rabbi has mastered his extensive study of his faith, the Holy Scriptures, etc and therefore he is a master of that subject. Which he is. So there’s no reason not to call him so. It’s the same thing as when we refer to someone as a bandmaster or a karate master. It just giving deference to their expertise and skill.
 
Frankly, you are WAY overthinking this.

No, the Catholic Church does not have a teaching on using honorific titles. But, by the example of our bishops and Pope, who use such honorifics when engaged in inter-religious dialog and meetings, there is no problem.
 
As far as I know the Church has no specific teachings on this. I think that we should follow the example of our bishops, and call leaders from other religious groups by the titles by which they would like to be called. It is just common courtesy, politeness, and respect. We can’t expect to be respected if we don’t show respect to others.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top