Peacemaking and the Challenge of Violence in World Religions

Written by top practitioner-scholars who bring a critical yet empathetic eye to the topic, this textbook provides a comprehensive look at peace and violence in seven world religions.

• Offers a clear and systematic narrative with coverage of Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Native American religions
• Introduces a different religion and its sacred texts in each chapter; discusses ideas of peace, war, nonviolence, and permissible violence; recounts historical responses to violence; and highlights individuals within the tradition working toward peace and justice
• Examines concepts within their religious context for a better understanding of the values, motivations, and ethics involved
• Includes student-friendly pedagogical features, such as enriching end-of-chapter critiques by practitioners of other traditions, definitions of key terms, discussion questions, and further reading sections

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1
Irfan A. Omar and Michael K. Duffey

1 Jihad and Nonviolence in the Islamic Tradition 9
Irfan A. Omar

Overview of the Islamic tradition 10

Ways of Understanding Violence and Nonviolence 13

Jihad in the Qur’an 15

Peacemaking and the challenge of violence 21

Nonviolent Activism: Key Muslim Figures 26

Conclusion 33

Questions for Discussion 35

Notes 35

References 36

Further Reading 38

Muslim Peacemaking and Civil Rights Organizations/Resources 39

Glossary 40

1.1 A Confucian Response 41
Sin Yee Chan

1.2 A Jewish Response 44
Joshua Ezra Burns

2 Christianity: From Peacemaking to Violence and Home Again 47
Michael K. Duffey

Who was Jesus? 49

Jesus, Nonviolence, and Peacemaking 50

A Brief History of Christian Nonviolence and Violence 55

Christian conscience 63

Peace through Nonviolence 65

Conclusion 69

Questions for discussion 70

Notes 70

References 72

Further Reading 73

2.1 A Buddhist Response 75
Eleanor Rosch

2.2 A Muslim Response 80
Irfan A. Omar

3 Jewish Ideologies of Peace and Peacemaking 83
Joshua Ezra Burns

What is Judaism? 84

Jewish Terms for Peace and Peacemaking 87

War and Peace in the Hebrew Scriptures 90

Pacifism in the Rabbinic Tradition 92

The State of Israel 95

Pursuing Peace 98

Conclusions and Future Prospects 101

Questions for Discussion 102

References 102

Further Reading 104

Glossary 105

3.1 A Christian Response 107
Michael K. Duffey

3.2 A Native American Response 109
Tink Tinker

4 From Sincerity of Thought to Peace “All Under Heaven” (Tianxia “V‰º): The Confucian Stance on Peace and Violence 112
Sin Yee Chan

Introduction to Confucianism 113

Meanings of peace 117

Peace on the ground 120

Violence and war 122

Conclusion 129

Questions for discussion 130

Notes 131

References 132

Further reading 133

Glossary 134

4.1 A Buddhist Response 135
Eleanor Rosch

4.2 A Jewish Response 139
Joshua Ezra Burns

5 “Peace is the Strongest Force in the World”: Buddhist Paths to Peacemaking and Nonviolence 142
Eleanor Rosch

Overview of Buddhism 143

Historical Development of the Meanings of Peace, Nonviolence, and War 149

Moral Teachings Regarding Violence and Nonviolence 152

History of Buddhism’s Responses to Violence 154

Emerging Innovative Peacemaking Practices 158

Conclusions: What in Buddhism Provides the Means for Nonviolent Peacemaking? 161

Questions for Discussion 164

Notes 165

References 166

Further Reading 167

Buddhist Peacemaking Organizations and Resources 169

Glossary 170

5.1 A Hindu Response 173
Kalpana Mohanty

5.2 A Native American Response 175
Tink Tinker

6 Peacemaking and Nonviolence in the Hindu Tradition 178
Kalpana Mohanty

Introduction to the Hindu tradition 179

Peace, war, and nonviolence 180

Hinduism’s Response to Violence 182

Traditional Methods of Conflict Resolution 184

Mohandas K. Gandhi and the Satyagraha Movement 185

Practices and Disciplines that Contribute to Peacemaking 188

Hindu Peace Groups and Organizations 189

Innovative and Emerging Peacemaking Practices 190

Hindu Saints and Seminal Thinkers 192

Conclusion 195

Questions for Discussion 196

Notes 196

References 196

Further Reading 197

Hindu Peace Organizations 198

Glossary 198

6.1 A Christian Response 200
Michael K. Duffey

6.2 A Muslim Response 202
Irfan A. Omar

7 The Irrelevance of euro]christian Dichotomies for Indigenous Peoples: Beyond Nonviolence to a Vision of Cosmic Balance 206
Tink Tinker

Religion 207

Balance as Reciprocal Dualism 210

Warfare 210

Nonviolence as Incompatible 215

World Incommensurability: the Dissimilitude of Otherness 216

Relationship = Less Extraneous Violence 219

Questions for discussion 220

Notes 221

References 223

Further reading 224

7.1 A Confucian Response 226
Sin Yee Chan

7.2 A Hindu Response 230
Kalpana Mohanty

Conclusion 232
Irfan A. Omar and Michael K. Duffey

Index 236

Irfan A. Omar is Associate Professor of Islam and World Religions at Marquette University, USA. He teaches courses on Islam, interfaith dialogue, and World Religions and his research interests include Christian-Muslim and Hindu-Muslim dialogue. He is the editor or co-editor of several books, including The Judeo-Christian-Islamic Heritage: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives (2012) and A Christian View of Islam: Essays on Dialogue (2010). In 2006, he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Muhammadiyah University Malang in Indonesia. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion. He is also a member of the steering committee of the Ethics Section of the American Academy of Religion.

Michael K. Duffey is Associate Professor of Theology at Marquette University, USA. He is also Director of the Interdisciplinary Major in Peace Studies and founder of the Marquette Center for Peacemaking. He holds degrees in government and in religious studies and his research interests include post-conflict healing, interreligious peacemaking, and the history of nonviolence. He has been published widely in scholarly journals and is the author of three books: Sowing Justice, Reaping Peace: Case Studies of Racial, Religious, and Ethnic Healing Around the World (2001), Peacemaking Christians: The Future of Just War, Pacifism, and Nonviolence (1995), and Be Blessed in What You Do (1988). Peacemaking and the Challenge of Violence in World Religions is a comprehensive exploration of the history, beliefs and practices around peace and violence in seven of the world’s major religions. Written by expert practitioner-scholars, this textbook provides clear and systematic coverage of Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Native American religions.

Each chapter introduces a different religion and its sacred texts; discusses ideas of peace, war, nonviolence, and permissible violence; recounts historical responses to violence; and highlights individuals working within the tradition toward peace and justice. At the end of each chapter there are critiques by practitioners of two other religions that create a rich dialogue between traditions. Other student-friendly pedagogical features include definitions of key terms, discussion questions, further reading sections, and a list of additional resources. This textbook is uniquely committed to discussing issues of peace and violence within their religious context in order to give readers a better understanding of the values, motivations, and ethics involved in these complex components of religion around the world.

Amid the many recent books on religions and peacemaking, this one clearly stands out. Not only do we hear the peace-message of each religion; we also are invited into an interreligious dialogue about those messages. For college courses as well as for parish study groups, this book is a valuable, and an enjoyable, resource.
Paul F. Knitter, Union Theological Seminary