Is a Jew allowed to visit a Christian cemetery?

Question

If a Jew wishes to visit a grave at a Christian cemetery (say the grave of a patrilineal grandparent), is it permissible? Does it matter if it is a mostly unadorned cemetery vs. one with pictures of Christian saints or other iconography?

Answer 1

yeshiva.co answers the question whether a Jew can attend a non-Jew's funeral

A Jew can enter a non-Jewish cemetery and attend a non-Jewish funeral. (see Bava Metziah 114a). The only prohibition is to enter a church if the ceremony takes place there.

chabad.org adds

According to Jewish law, there is generally no issue with attending a non-Jewish funeral or visiting a non-Jewish cemetery.

If there are pictures, one should not behave in any way that leads to concerns of avoda zara (e.g., prosternating).

Answer 2

Note that the Chabad article cited in the answer of @mbloch points out that a kohen cannot visit a non-Jewish cemetery

According to Jewish law, there is generally no issue with attending a non-Jewish funeral or visiting a non-Jewish cemetery (unless one is a kohen).[FN1]

[FN1:] See, for example, Talmud, Bava Metzia 114b.

Answer 3

A Jew can go to a Christian or Muslim cemetery. There doesn't need to be a pressing need like a funeral, but all the moreso for a funeral. But Jews are forbidden from entering churches even for a pressing need such as a funeral according to Jewish law.

The great Rambam in his commentary on the Mishnah Masechet Avodah Zarah (Chapter One) deduces from the words of the Mishnah there regarding an actual house of idol worship “that we are almost forbidden to look at it, let alone enter it.” The words of the Rambam are quoted as Halacha by the Shach (Yoreh De’ah, Chapter 149) as well as the other Acharonim (ibid). The Tosafot in Masechet Avodah Zarah (17b) deduce from the Gemara (ibid.) that one must distance himself even from the entrance of a house of idol worship as much as possible. Similarly, Maran Ha’Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah (Chapter 150, Section 1) rules that there is a Mitzvah to distance one’s self four Amot (approximately 6.5 feet) from a path of idol worship. Thus, if one is walking close to a house of idol worship, such as a church, one should distance himself at least four Amot from the entrance to this place, for it is well-known that Christian churches are considered houses of idol worship as they believe in another deity besides for Hashem. If so, it is certainly forbidden to actually enter their churches, for they are actual houses of idol worship.

Source: https://halachayomit.co.il/en/default.aspx?HalachaID=2367

Despite these halakhic sources, there have been Jewish communities that had the custom to enter churches to attend funerals. The chief Rabbinate and I believe Egyptian Jews in general had a custom of entering churches for funerals of Christians in Egypt. Rav Ovadia Yosef was asked to attend such a funeral in a church as the Chief Rabbi was too ill to attend himself.

While Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l served as a Rabbi and Av Bet Din (head of the rabbinical court) in Egypt in the year 5708 (1948), he also served as Assistant Chief Rabbi of Egypt. The post of Chief Rabbi was held by a man by the name of Chaim Nachum Afandi who was close to the king of Egypt, a member of the Egyptian parliament in Cairo, and a member of the Academy of the Arabic Language, and was thus chosen for this position. During this period, a certain well-respected Christian diplomat passed away in Egypt and the government invited the country’s Chief Rabbi to represent the Chief Rabbinate and participate in the funeral services. Since the Chief Rabbi was in a weakened state, he requested that Maran zt”l attend the funeral in his place. When Maran zt”l heard that it was customary for all to file into the church where the deceased lay and listen to Christian prayers and the like, he notified the Chief Rabbi that under no circumstances would he agree to enter the church. The Chief Rabbi exerted much pressure on Maran zt”l to agree to go, for if no representative of the Chief Rabbinate would be present, this might cause a serious diplomatic incident to ensue. Nevertheless, Maran zt”l disagreed with his stance and claimed that, on the contrary, the participation of a rabbi at such an event is an unparalleled desecration of Hashem’s name and a disgrace of the Jewish religion in the eyes of the non-Jewish nations. He thus remained steadfast in his convictions and no representative of the Chief Rabbinate attended the funeral. Note: No fall-out ever resulted.

The author of this article views Rav Ovadia Yosef's actions as a win for Halakha and claims that no fall-out ever resulted. That's a large statement considered the Jews were expelled from Egypt within a decade of Ovadia Yosef serving in the Chief Rabbinate office.