Cognitive Model of the Causal Explanation Ofanti-semitism: a Study Based on Hungarian Data

The subjectively written content of the NewTestament have long been academically thought asone source responsible for the historical persecutionof Jews. Theological judeophobia is a cornerstoneof the models explaining anti-Semitism. However,recent history (and thepresent) involves the very differently evolvedpolitical anti-Semitism. If trying to explaincontemporaryprejudices and perception of Jewry, politicalanti-Semitism should be as important a factor as thetheological one. The causalexplanatory models discussed here are models which usestatistical methods to analyze thecontribution of different sources onto a finalphenomena, in this case anti-Semitism. Since the existingmodels reviewed (including cognitive models) do notcontain the political factor, the most relevant modelis modified toaccommodate political anti-Semitism into it'sstructure. The statistical analysis isbased on a previously done, large Hungarianempirical survey project of anti-Semitism. The studyconcludes, that models including both source ofanti-Jewish sentiments are superior in explainingcontemporary anti-Semitism.