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peace
Introduction
The hope that the coming together of world religions in friendship would bring an end to war has inspired the interfaith movement from the beginning.
Charles Bonney in his opening presidential address to the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 - usually seen as the start of organised interfaith activity - voiced his hope that ‘when the religious faiths of the world recognise each others as ... children of one Father, whom all profess to love and serve, then, and not till then, will the nations of the earth yield to the Spirit of concord and learn war no more’
One hundred years later Professor Hans Küng ended his influential book Global Responsibility with the slogan ‘no peace among the nations without peace among the religions.’
Küng linked this with a call for a ‘world ethic for the nations.’ One hundred years before, Bonney had called for religions to unite around the Golden Rule.
Despite these calls, the twentieth century was perhaps the bloodiest in human history. It could be said that this was because the century was dominated by atheistic and secular ideologies. If only the world were more religious, it would be more peaceful! But the resurgence of religion in parts of the world in the last two decades has been a new cause of conflict. Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks, writing in 1991, asked, ‘We lamented the loss of faith. Shall we fear its rediscovery still more?’
Of course, it is easy to say that where religion is seen to incite violence, then that is a perversion of religion. This, however, is to ignore the complex and varied role of religion in human life, even if its influence has been eroded in some societies, especially Western Europe, by secularisation.
In 1993 - one hundred years after the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago - Samuel P Huntington highlighted the explosive nature of religion in his article ‘A Clash of Civilisations’. In his book The Clash of Civilisations and the Remaking of the World Order, in which he developed his ideas, Huntington writes,
Blood, language, religion, way of life, were what the Greeks had in common and what distinguished them from the Persians and other non-Greeks. Of all the objective elements which define civilisations, however, the most important usually is religion, as the Athenians emphasised. To a very large degree, the major civilisations in human history have been closely identified with the world’s great religions and people who share ethnicity and language but differ in religion may slaughter each other, as happened in Lebanon, the former Yugoslavia and the Subcontinent.
Huntington predicted that the clash of civilisations, in which religion plays a major part, is likely to repeat itself ‘as the world moves out of its Western phase.’ In particular he foresaw a growing clash between the West and the civilisation of Islam.
What are those aspects of religions that are likely to create division? What are the ways in which religions may be used to enflame conflicts which perhaps have other root causes? What are the ways in which people of faith can help to reduce conflict by preventative measures? How can religions contribute to peace building and how might they help to mollify actual conflict? What are the ways in which religions can contribute positively to shaping a new world order?
Consider these questions with relation to the situation where you live. Note down your first responses and see if they change as you read more.
Contents / Introduction / Prayers / Peace or Conflict / Peaceful Relations / Peace Issues / Conflict / Reconciliation / Peace Initiatives / Messengers of Peace / Summary / Inspiration /Real Peace / Resources
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