In the religion of Judaism, there is a concept of “chosenness” – the belief that Jewish people are chosen to be the only nation worthy of being in a covenant with God. A covenant is a special kind of relationship with the Lord. In the Hebrew Bible, it is unclear why exactly Jewish people are “chosen”. However, this covenant indicates they are always innocent in God’s eyes if they follow the rules set in the Tora. This idea of “chosenness” that is described in the Hebrew Bible generates hostility between Jewish people and other faith groups.
Most monotheistic religions nowadays have a covenant-like relationship between the followers and their God, including Judaism. It is the only ancient religion that survived until today, perhaps because of this same covenant. It establishes a tight and intimate bond between the congregation and their God, which creates a sense of unity with each other and the universe. However, religious discourse suffers because of this idea of an exclusive relationship with a higher power. When claiming that Jewish people have a birthright to a special covenant with God, members of other religious groups may dismay since it directly conflicts with their understanding of faith entirely. It also undermines their unity with their congregation, God, and the universe. It is easy to see how this can result in hostility. For example, members of the Christian and Jewish religions disagree because of the differences between the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Each claim to have a covenant with God and that their specific faith community is “chosen”. The history of the relationship between Jewish and people and Christians has been painful and, at times, violent.
Many conflicts have been started because of the concept of “chosenness” and its exclusivity. Undeterred by these differences between religious scripture and peoples understanding of it, it is incredibly important to maintain peace and civility among members of various religions.