What does religion have to say about nonviolence?
Peace and justice are central values in all religions, and those who can create peace out of enmity are respected and considered role models. There is a wealth of material on the tradition of nonviolence within major world religions such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism (for example, see The Nonviolence of the Brave: Nonviolence in Different Spiritual Traditions, available from IFOR). While much attention has been paid recently to the role religion has in today’s violent conflicts, less has been paid to religion’s potential for peacemaking and conflict resolution. Each spiritual tradition, too, has adherents who are progressive and who seek positive social change, and others who want to maintain tradition and the status quo. The peace message within different religions will be interpreted differently, too, according to the political beliefs of its followers. A growing number of people are organizing within different religions in order to push for a strong stance on peace an
