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Peace churches are
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches: *
Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition ( "Schwarzenau New Baptists") that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germany during the Radical Pietist revival. ...
, including all daughter churches such as the Old German Baptist Brethren, Old Brethren and Dunkard Brethren; *
Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
(Quakers); and *
Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. The term (tra ...
, including
Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
,
Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...
and
Hutterites Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptism, Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16 ...
. In addition to the Schwarzenau Brethren and Mennonites, other Anabaptist Christian fellowships, such as the Hutterian Brethren,
River Brethren The River Brethren are a group of historically related Anabaptist Christian denominations originating in 1770, during the Radical Pietist movement among German colonists in Pennsylvania. In the 17th century, Mennonite refugees from Switzerl ...
, Apostolic Christian Church and Bruderhof teach pacifism as well. This phrase has been used since the first conference of the peace churches in Kansas in 1935.Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites p6 Donald B. Kraybill – 2010 "In 1935, BRETHREN, Mennonites, and Quakers met in North Newton, Kansas, for a conference on peace. The term HISTORIC PEACE CHURCHES was developed at this conference in order to distinguish between the groups' biblically based peaceful ..." The definition of "peace churches" is sometimes expanded to include
Christadelphians The Christadelphians () are a Restorationism, restorationist and Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Biblical unitarianism, (Biblical Unitarian) Christian denomination. The name means 'brothers and sisters in Christ',"The Christadelphians, or breth ...
(from 1863) and others who did not participate in the conference of the "historic peace churches" in Kansas in 1935. The peace churches agree that
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
advocated
nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
. Whether physical force can ever be justified in defending oneself is controversial. Most believers adhere strictly to a moral attitude of nonresistance in the face of violence. These churches generally concur that violence on behalf of nations and their governments is contrary to Christian morality, but agree that the teachings of Jesus were to explain the principles of the Kingdom of God rather than and contrasted with the ways of any earthly government.


History

Among all Christian denominations, there have always been groups of members who advocate nonviolence, but certain churches have consistently supported it since their foundation. Besides the three historic peace churches, they include the
Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...
, Old Order Mennonites,
Conservative Mennonites Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Co ...
, Holdeman Mennonites,
Hutterites Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptism, Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16 ...
, Old German Baptist Brethren, Old Order River Brethren, the Brethren in Christ, and others in the
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
tradition; Doukhobors, Molokans, Dunkard Brethren, ''Dukh-i-zhizniki'', Bruderhof Communities, Schwenkfelders,
Moravians Moravians ( or Colloquialism, colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech language, Czech or Czech language#Common Czech, Common ...
, the
Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...
, and even some groups within the
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
movement. The largest Finished Work Pentecostal denomination, the
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
, abandoned pacifism around the time of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. These groups have disagreed, both internally and with each other, about the propriety of
non-combatant Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities. People such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent arm ...
military roles, such as unarmed medical personnel, or performing non-battlefield services that assist nations in wartime, such as manufacturing munitions. One position might argue that Jesus would never object to helping people who are suffering, while another might object that doing so contributes indirectly to violence by freeing other people to engage in it. Most peace churches support alternative service options such as service to refugees or in hospitals, as long as they are not associated with the military. In America the first conference of historic peace churches was held in 1935 in Kansas. Five years later in Canada, the Conference of Historic Peace Churches was formed in Ontario in 1940, headed by Harold Sherk to represent Mennonite, Brethren, and Quaker churches as they sought exemption from military service. At one time, active membership in and acceptance of the beliefs of one of the peace churches was required for obtaining
conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
status in the United States, and hence exemption from military
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
, or for those already in the military, honorable discharge. But after a series of court rulings, this requirement was dropped. In the United States, one may now claim conscientious objector status based on a personal belief system that need not be Christian, nor even based on religion. Peace churches, especially those with sufficient financial and organizational resources, have attempted to heal the ravages of war without favoritism. This has often aroused controversy, as when the Quakers sent large shipments of food and medicine to
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, and to U.S.- embargoed
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. The American Friends Service Committee and the Mennonite Central Committee are two charitable denominational agencies set up to provide such healing. In the 1980s, the Quakers, Brethren, and Mennonites came together to create Christian Peacemaker Teams, an international organization that works to reduce violence and systematic
injustice Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but ...
in regions of conflict. This was motivated by the desire for Christians to take peacemaking as seriously as soldiers and governments take war-making.


Other Christian pacifist groups


Christadelphians, 1863

The Christadelphians are one of only a small number of churches whose identity as a denomination is directly linked to the issue of Christian pacifism. Although the grouping which later took the name "Christadelphian" had largely separated from the Campbellite movement in Scotland and America after 1848, it was conscription in the American Civil War which caused their local church in Ogle County, Illinois, to register as
conscientious objectors A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or freedom of religion, religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for ...
in 1863 under the name "Christadelphians." When the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
was imminent Christadelphians in the British Empire took the same stance, though frequently faced military tribunals. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Christadelphians were exempted and performed civil work – though some of the small number of Christadelphians in Germany were imprisoned and one executed. The position was maintained through the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
,
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and today.


Doukhobors

The Doukhobors are a Spiritual Christian denomination that advocate pacifism. On 29 June 1895, the Doukhobors, in what is known as the "Burning of the Arms", "piled up their swords, guns, and other weapons and burned them in large bonfires while they sang psalms".


Holiness Pacifists

The Emmanuel Association, Reformed Free Methodist Church,
Immanuel Missionary Church The Immanuel Missionary Church (IMC) is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement. The formation of the Immanuel Missionary Church is a part of the history of Methodism in the United States. The Immanuel Missionary Chu ...
, Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma), First Bible Holiness Church and Christ's Sanctified Holy Church are denominations in the
holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christianity, Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakers, Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. Churches aligned with ...
known for their opposition to war today; they are known as "Holiness Pacifists". The Emmanuel Association, for example, teaches:


Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1867

Adventists had sought and obtained exemption as conscientious objectors in 1864, and the
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...
from 1914 has a long history of noncombatancy service within and outside the military. In practice today, as a pastor from the Seventh-day Adventist church comments in an online magazine run by members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church: "Today in a volunteer army a lot of Adventist young men and women join the military in combat positions, and there are many Adventist pastors electing for military chaplaincy positions, supporting combatants and non-combatants alike. On Veteran’s Day, American churches across the country take time to give honor and respect to those who “served their country,” without any attempt to differentiate how they served, whether as bomber pilots, Navy Seals, or Operation Whitecoat guinea pigs. I have yet to see a service honoring those who ran away to Canada to avoid participation in the senseless carnage of Vietnam in their Biblical pacifism."


Churches of God (7th day)

The different groups evolving under the name Church of God (7th day) stand opposed to carnal warfare, based on Matthew 26:52; Revelation 13:10; Romans 12:19–21. They believe the weapons of their warfare to not be carnal but spiritual (II Corinthians 10:3–5; Ephesians 6:11–18).


Molokans

The Molokans are a Spiritual Christian denomination that advocate pacifism. They have historically been persecuted for failing to bear arms.


Partially pacifist groups


Community of Christ

Although non-credal and not explicitly pacifist, the Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) is emerging as an international peace church through such ministries as the
Community of Christ International Peace Award A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
, the Daily Prayer for Peace, and resources to support conscientious objection to war. However, in the United States and worldwide, many church members are active in military service and the church provides active duty chaplaincy for outreach and ministry to military personnel.


Churches of Christ

Once containing a relatively large nonviolence faction,
Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...
are now more conflicted. Contemporary Churches of Christ, especially those that hold with the teachings of David Lipscomb, tend toward pacifist views. This means that they believe that the use of coercion and/or force may be acceptable for purposes of personal self-defense but that resorting to warfare is not an option open to Christians.


Fellowship of Reconciliation

As noted above, there are peace groups within most mainstream Christian denominations. The
Fellowship of Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...
was set up as an organization to bring together people in these groups and members of the historic peace churches. In some countries, e.g. the United States, it has broadened its scope to include members of other religions or none, and people whose position is not strictly for nonviolence. However, in other countries (e.g., the United Kingdom) it remains essentially an organization of Christian nonviolence.


See also

* American Friends Service Committee * Anglican Pacifist Fellowship * Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America * Brethren Volunteer Service * Catholic Worker Movement * Center on Conscience & War * Christian pacifism *
Christianity and violence Christians have had diverse attitudes towards violence and nonviolence over time. Both Christianity in the modern era, currently and History of Christianity, historically, there have been four attitudes towards violence and war and four resultin ...
* Churches of Peace, three buildings built by and for
Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
in
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
after granted permission from Austrian Habsburgs * Civilian-based defense * Civilian Public Service *
Conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
* Diane Drufenbrock * Doukhobors * Hopedale Community * Jewish Peace Fellowship * List of pacifist faiths *
List of peace activists This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated Diplomacy, diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usua ...
*
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
*
Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
*
Nonconformism Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...
* Nonresistance *
Nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
*
Pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...
* Pax Christi * Plain people * Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Act * Seagoing cowboys * Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) * Testimony of peace *
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
* John Howard Yoder * Adin Ballou


References


Further reading

*Driver, Juan (1970) ''How Christians Made Peace With War: Early Christian Understandings of War''. Scottdale PA: Herald Press. :(1999) ''Radical Faith''. Scottdale PA: Herald Press. *Friesen, Duane K. (1986) ''Christian Peacemaking and International Conflict: A Realist Pacifist Perspective''. Scottdale: Herald Press. *Lederach, John Paul (1999) ''The Journey Toward Reconciliation''. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press. *Ruth-Heffelbower, Duane (1991) ''The Anabaptists Are Back: Making Peace in a Dangerous World''. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press. *Sider, Ronald (1979) ''Christ and Violence''. Scottdale PA: Herald Press. *Sampson, Cynthia (1999) "Religion and Peacebuilding." In ''Peacemaking in International Conflict: Methods and Techniques''; edited by I. William Zartman, and J. Lewis Rasmussen. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press. * Stievermann, Jan. "A 'Plain, Rejected Little Flock': The Politics of Martyrological Self-Fashioning among Pennsylvania's German Peace Churches, 1739-65." '' William and Mary Quarterly'' 66.2 (2009): 287-324
online
*Trocmé, André (1961) ''Jesus and the Nonviolent Revolution''; Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003. *Wink, Walter, ed. (2000) ''Peace is the Way: Writings on Nonviolence from the Fellowship of Reconciliation''. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. *Van Dyck, Harry R. (1990) ''Exercise of Conscience: A World War II Objector Remembers''. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books. *McGrath, Willam (1980) ''Why We Are Conscientious Objectors to War''. Millersburg, OH: Amish Mennonite Publications. * Horsch, Joh (1999) ''The Principle of Nonresistance as Held by the Mennonite Church''. Ephrata, PA: Eastern Mennonite Publications. *Brown, Dale (1985) ''Biblical Pacifism: A Peace Church Perspective''. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press.


External links


Historic Peace Churches
in '' Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia''
Who are the Historic Peace Churches (HPC)?

Every Church a Peace Church
– organization working to create more peace churches

* ttps://www.bibleviews.com/Biblicalnonresist.html Pacifism And Biblical Nonresistance
NonResistance.Org

Cascadia Publishing House
– Anabaptist-related publisher of Historic Peace Church materials {{Anabaptist Christian terminology