Religion, War and Peace

       Topic 4 – Religion, War and Peace

Key words and concepts

Conflict: a state of discord or war.

War: a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state.

Peace: an absence of conflict which leads to happiness and harmony.

Justice: bringing about what is right and fair according to the law or making up for what has been done wrong.

Sanctity of life: life is sacred because it is God-given.

Pacifism: the belief of people who refuse to take part in war and any form of violence.

Just War: a theory developed by Thomas Aquinas. It is a war that the Christian church defines as acceptable (see below for more details).

Jihad: Islamic holy war (see below for more details).

Why do people go to war?

• to defend their country
• to defend their beliefs, religion, freedom and way of life or to impose them on others
• to defend or protect an ally
• to remove their own leader
• to gain more land/territory
• to gain wealth, power or important resources
• to stop genocide

Key conflicts

• the Crusades
• Vietnam war
• the Falkland’s conflict
• Gaza/Palestine

Consequences of war

• death
• injury
• destruction of culture, economy and infrastructure (including poverty)
• freedom
• disease and famine
• cost

Just War Theory

Just War Theory was first written about by Thomas Aquinas. He was a Roman Catholic theologian/philosopher. Many other Christian groups agree with it. A ‘Just War’ must fit certain criteria. Under these criteria a war:

• have a just cause
• be lawfully declared by a proper authority
• have good intention
• be a last resort
• have reasonable chance of success
• be fought by just means and in proportion
• only occur if the good outweighs the evil

Jihad: Holy War

Jihad (holy war): fighting for a religious cause or God. Muslims believe fighting is a duty (lesser jihad) if Islam or Muslims are under threat. There is a strict criteria. For example, a war must be:

• fought for God
• a last resort
• conducted fairly
• for the protection of civilians
• …