Religion and Peace
 Outline the principal teachings and understanding about peace in Christianity and Islam through
significant writings within sacred texts for TWO religious traditions.
Peace is often associated with the non-existence of war and violence, although various religious traditions
have different interpretations and perspectives of what peace means to them through the use of sacred texts,
adherents, principal beliefs, practices and rituals used within their religion. This can be demonstrated through
the close analysis of two major religious traditions Christianity and Islam.
Christianity Using The New Testament
- In Christianity, the principal teaching of peace comes from Christ (Pax Christi) and it is a peace which is
transcendental, so it can not be achieved through human works.
- This “transcendental” peace can be obtained through “peace of soul, peace of mind, peace of heart and
peace amongst humanity”.
- The Pax Christi (Peace of Christ) is a critical part of the principal teachings within Christianity as it:
 Demonstrates the way of life that a Christian should undertake
 It provides a sense of moral ethical guidance
 It places an emphasis on the concept of non-violence
 It influences Christians to be active in living a peaceful life and contributing to a peaceful world
 It can be achieved by first reaching an inner peace within themselves.
- The concept of Pax Christi is evident in the sacred text of the Bible, specifically the New Testament.
- Jesus brought peace and love to the rest of the world through God, which is seen in the New Testament.
- This contrasts the fearful and violent God which was previously illustrated in the Old Testament.
- Jesus is also known as “The Prince of Peace”, as he was a source of peace throughout His life, ministry,
death and resurrection.
- The New Testament exalts peace as a virtue and identifies it as a key element of the reign of God
- When Thomas doubts Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus reassures Thomas through His powerful words “Peace
be with you”, praying that Thomas would be blessed with serenity and a sense of tranquillity, so that he
will not be fearful but instead believe in Jesus.
- Even in today’s Christian Liturgies the Priest asks the community to “Give to each other a blessing of
peace”, where people turn around and shake hands simultaneously saying “Peace be with you,” this
shows the significance of peace within all Christian traditions, regardless of the denomination.
- Jesus also said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”
The peace that we can achieve today is not that of a transcendental kind, the kind of peace that Jesus
promised us.
- Instead Jesus tells us that the greatest peace can not be achieved unless it is given to us by God.
- In Philippians it promises that "the peace of God which is beyond all understanding will guard your hearts
and minds, in Christ Jesus".
- Jesus also tells us that we can achieve peace by carrying the cross everyday and getting rid of all
material possessions.
- Metaphorically, carrying the cross means to endure the pains, sufferings and burdens which every day
brings and through Jesus’ teachings about peace, love, forgiveness and repentance we can achieve
peace within our lives.
- The Beatitudes provide another statement against warfare with their praise of the peacemakers in
Matthew. “Happy are those who work for peace, God will call them his children!””
- Other teachings include the command to love your neighbour as yourself, the requirement to love
enemies and to treat others as you would want to be treated, in order to bring peace to the world.
- The pacifist stance of the Christian communities came to be one of their identifying features and was one
of the reasons that they suffered persecution from Roman authorities
- However, this changed with the conversion of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, where the
challenges of this new situation led to the development of a Just War theory over time.
- Saint Augustine was the first to write about this theory, and he believed that the only reason for declaring
war would be to defend the nation’s peace against serious injury.
- The "Just War" theory sought to establish guidelines under which it was morally acceptable to engage in
warfare.
 War must be aimed at repelling or deterring aggression and safeguarding human rights.
 It must be authorised by a legitimate authority.
 The stated objectives for going to war must be the real ones.
 War must be a last resort; all peaceful alternatives must be exhausted.
Islam Using The Qur’an and Hadith
- Islam also places peace as a fundamental aspect of life, and like Christianity’s principal teaching that
comes from Pax Christi, Islam’s principal teaching of peace comes from the concept of Jihad.
- “Jihad literally means to “struggle”...” to do Allah’s will and to struggle against evil.
- The Western Civilisation and some Islamic extremists tend to misinterpret the concept of jihad and often
assume the word to mean “Holy War”.
- Even though Jihad can also refer to the military struggle to achieve religious freedom for Muslims and the
protection of Muslim values, it is not synonymous for war.
- Islam justifies war against oppressive regimes that prevent people from living in freedom and upholding
their religious beliefs and practices
- However it does not justify war against non-Muslim people for the purposes of forcefully spreading the
influence of Islam.
- Muslims can engage themselves only in a defensive, not in an offensive war, whatever the circumstances
- The Qur'an is a fundamental text in Islam as it is seen as the literal word of God, which Muhammad had
recorded and so this text is seen as infallible and without error.
- The Qur'an refers to Islam as “The paths of peace”
- Like the New Testament, the Qur'an also places forgiveness as an important path towards peace.
- In the Qur'an it states “And Allah does not love mischief”, so it implies that Allah hates all the disturbances
that come in the way of the path towards peace.
- “And Allah invites to the abode of peace and guides whom He pleases into the right path.” This verse in
the Qur'an says that Allah invites whoever pleases him to the “Home of Peace” and he will lead them on
to the right path.
- So to please Allah one must be at peace with themselves and with the community (Umma) in order to
reach their paradise, “Home of Peace”.
- The Hadith is a collection of the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad.
- Muhammad’s daily prayer was centred on the hope for peace, in the Hadith it sates: “O Allah, you are the
original source of peace; from you is all peace, and to you returns all peace”.
- All Muslims daily greet each other with “As-Salamu-Alaykum” which means “Peace be with you”, again
this illustrates the importance of peace within the daily lives of every Muslim.
- The Five Pillars of Faith are essential to the principal teachings in Islam. It consists of Shahada, Salah,
Zakah, Sawm and Hajj, each of the pillars contributes to leading a more peaceful lifestyle.
 Demonstrate how TWO religious traditions guide the individual in achieving inner peace.
- “Inner peace refers to a state of being mentally or spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and
understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress.”
- Christianity can guide the individual to achieve an inner peace within themselves through various
practices which attempt to return the individual to the Gospel, which guides them on how to live according
to Jesus’ principal teachings.
- Inner peace is promised to Christians who live faithfully according to the requirements of the gospel and
who place their faith and trust in God.
- The New Testament teaches believers that being reconciled to God brings inner peace.
- Jesus is regarded as the bringer of peace and to live in close relationship to him and his teaching will
allow the follower to experience this inner peace.
- Throughout Jesus’ life and ministry, prayer was essential in achieving inner peace as He was able to
communicate with God, who is the source of all peace, tranquillity and serenity.
- Prayer allows Christians to contemplate with their thoughts and build a relationship closer to God which
will hopefully result in a more peaceful life.
- Other actions which lead to inner peace may include:
 Reflections with other members of the community
 Meditation that clears and calms the mind so it is prepared to be inspired by God’s works
 Attending sacramental liturgies like Reconciliation and receiving Holy Communion
 Confession
 Forgiveness
 Reading the Bible
 Reading the documents which the Churches give out.
- Integrity and fidelity to one's vocation is fundamental to finding inner peace
- It is not possible to achieve inner peace while experiencing turmoil and inner conflict due to compromising
personal values.
- The community contributes to inner peace by the provision of chaplains in hospitals, jails etc, the placing
of Bibles in places where people may be looking for guidance (Gideons International) and counselling
services such as Lifeline (Rev Alan Walker)
- Islam can also guide the individual to achieve a state of inner peace within themselves in two ways: The
first is being at peace with Allah and the second is to be at peace with themselves and the rest of the
world.
- To be at peace with Allah involves prayer, fasting, performing Hajj and completing the five pillars of faith,
so to achieve inner peace a Muslim must submit themselves completely to Allah.
- To be at peace with oneself, Muslims must obey and submit themselves to the will of Allah, pray five times
a day (Salat) so that they are reminded to let go off all material possessions and meditate in order to grow
closer to Allah.
- Muslims need to be at peace with everyone else in order to be at peace with themselves, and when they
are at peace with themselves then they are able to bring peace and justice to the world.
- Muslims also recognise that there can not be any kind of peace without a close relationship with Allah.
- The five pillars of faith require both an internal or spiritual commitment together with an outward action.
- In Islam the concept of peace is closely related to the idea of submission where peace can be found
- A common saying in Islam is “insha’ Allah” which means “if God is willing”, this is as a reminder that Allah
is in charge of every aspect of their lives and that no one can prevent anything from happening if it is the
will of Allah. This assists with inner peace as it is easier to make decisions knowing it is the will of Allah.
- The mystical movement of Sufism has had a significant influence on the quest for inner peace.
 Discuss how TWO religious traditions are contributing to world peace.
- “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice” Rev. Martin Luther King Jnr
- In Christianity, there have been various initiatives, programs, public statements, commemorative days and
organisations which have been established in order to create a more peaceful world.
- Some of these initiatives include the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) which was set up by the World
Council of Churches in 2001and became and ecumenical movement.
- DOV aims to “Work together for peace, justice and reconciliation at all levels”
- There is even an “International Day of Prayer for Peace” on Friday 21st of September, where all Churches
are invited to pray for peace in the world and to celebrate the peace that they have already been blessed
with. This day is also part of the World Council of Churches initiative Decade to Overcome Violence.
- Youth of The Streets is another initiative which was started by Father Chris Riley, in order to help the
homeless and drug addicted young Australians.
- In doing so, it is contributing to world peace by presenting a chance of justice through offering young
Australians an opportunity to start a new life and hopefully to find their inner peace.
- Individual denominations such as the Society of Friends (Quakers) have also released many public
statements relating to peacemaking
- Movements such as the Catholic Worker movement led by Dorothy Day have been renowned in the quest
for world peace
- The Catholic worker movement developed an approach of active non-violence and often used civil
disobedience as a means of protest.
- Another well known organisation is the international group Pax Christi who have pioneered peacemaking
at an international level for decades
- All major denominations will have special liturgical events on Anzac day
- Many would also hold events on other occasions such as Remembrance Day and Hiroshima Day
- Palm Sunday has become a day for public gatherings, marches and rallies in support of peace
- Islam is also contributing to world peace through various initiatives. However, it is important to recognise
that it is more difficult for Muslims to play an active role in contributing to peace initiatives.
- This is due to the misconceptions which have arisen through the media and political conflicts that have
occurred in the Middle East, where the political leaders use Islam as their reason for war and conflict.
- Nevertheless, organisations like the Muslim World Initiative are still seeking for peace.
- The Muslim World Initiative aims to “promote peace and stability within the Muslim world through activities
that directly contribute to the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict”
- The Muslim Peace Fellowship aims to “Work against injustice and for peace in ourselves, our families, our
communities, and our world.”
- There have also been a number of interfaith initiatives which are also attempting to work towards world
peace, such as the “Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice”.
- The fast during Ramadan reminds Muslims of people who have less than themselves, and encourages
them to be more charitable to the less fortunate, attempting to bring them justice.