Religious pacifism and non-violence

No to war and violence in all its forms

By Pascale Frémond, M.A. Religious Sciences and Spirituality, Université de Montréal 

President of Religions for Peace - Quebec and Canada 

February 25, 2023 

On this sad anniversary of the beginning of the war between Russia and the NATO-allied Ukraine, it seems appropriate to draw attention to the messages in favor of pacifism and non-violence coming from some of today's great religious leaders. Following the better known messages and actions of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Desmond Tutu, among others, we will discuss here the messages of Pope Francis among Christians and those of the Dalai Lama among Buddhists.  

In 2022, the publication of a collection of Pope Francis' interventions entitled "Against War. The Courage to Build a Culture of Peace" seems to have gone almost completely unnoticed, at a time when a polarization of international discourse was becoming increasingly present in the world's media. Yet it seems essential that the world's Christians, after centuries of a culture of war and the use of systematic violence in national (religious wars) and international disagreements, finally realize that Jesus, whom they regard as the Son of God sent to earth for the salvation of humanity, was non-violent. Not only did he refuse to be the leader of the Zealots who wanted to attack the Roman power by violence, but he imperatively told Peter to sheath his sword, alleging that "whoever draws the sword will perish by the sword". Not to mention the Bible's very explicit commandment "Thou shalt not kill". The message of Christ is crystal clear, and even if St. Augustine was the first to justify the use of violence, we cannot ignore the fact that any violence done in the name of any religion constitutes an abuse of power.  

Pope Francis' writing is, like his previous writings on the preservation of the environment, Laudato Si, and on the need for fraternity among all humans, Fratelli Tutti, extremely articulate and as such seems to us worthy of everyone's interest. These three writings firmly establish the link between the need for social justice and non-violence and the preservation of nature, a link which is the dominant one of the citizen commitment of the pacifists of the last years.  

Pope Francis' firm conviction against the use of violence and against war is in line with the repeated interventions of the Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism, who considers the acceptance of war to be the greatest brainwashing that humanity has ever known. According to him, war is always unacceptable.  

Here is a quote from the Dalai Lama reported by Elyane Clementine Camus in her May 11, 2017 article:  

Obviously, war and large military establishments are the most important sources of violence around the world. Whether for defensive or offensive purposes, these vast and extremely powerful organizations exist solely for the purpose of killing human beings. We need to think seriously about the reality of war. Most of us have been conditioned to view military combat as attractive as well as prestigious - an opportunity for men to prove their skills and courage. 

Since armies have been legal, we have thought that war is acceptable; generally speaking, no one perceives the acceptance of war as criminal, or that it is something criminal in itself. In fact, we have been indoctrinated. War is neither glamorous nor attractive. It is monstrous. By its very nature, it is tragedy and suffering.  

One year after the beginning of the tragic confrontation that is currently taking place in Ukraine, it seems essential to us that religious leaders take a stand following the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis to denounce the legitimization of violence and to declare with them that all war and all forms of violence are unacceptable.