Religion, Peace and Conflict

• Reasons for War

  • To fight against a country that has done something very wrong or to fight against a country that has attacked you
• Holy War


  • A war fought for religious reasons, often with the backing of religious leaders
  • An example is the Crusades fought by Christians from the 11th-14th Century backed by the Pope
• Religious quote: ''The Lord your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies''
• Some Christians justify war with 'an eye for an eye', but this cannot justify the use of weapons of mass destruction as they are not a proportionate response
• Religious quote: ''An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth''
• Christians try to show mercy and sacrificial love to victims of war and provide them with assistance
• Religion can still be a cause for war today, such as in Northern Ireland where Protestant and Catholic Christians fought a civil war from 1968-98
• Religious quote: ''I did not come to bring peace, but a sword''
• Protests and Terrorism

  • Right to gather together and protest is a fundamental democratic freedom
  • UK law allows for peaceful public protest but sometimes protests can turn violent and become a riot
  • Christians often protest unjust laws or for other forms of justice but would rarely advocate the use of violence in protest
• Just War Theory

  • Christian moral theory for determining if a war meets internationally accepted criteria for fairness
  • Conditions include Just Cause, Just Intention, Last Resort, and protection of civilians
• Religious quote: ''You shall not kill''
• Nuclear War and WMD

  • Nuclear weapons work by a nuclear reaction and devastate huge areas and kill large numbers of people
  • They are a type of WMD (weapons of mass destruction) which are not allowed under the Christian Just War Theory
  • WMDs can also include chemical and biological weapons
• A Holy War is fought for religious reasons, often with the backing of religious leaders
• Pacifism is the idea that all forms of violence are wrong
• Protests and Terrorism

  • Protests
  • Terrorism
• Nuclear War and WMD

  • Nuclear weapons work by a nuclear reaction and devastate huge areas and kill large numbers of people
  • Nuclear weapons were used at the end of WWII in Japan
  • WMDs can include chemical and biological weapons
• Pacifism is the idea that all forms of violence are wrong and some Christians refuse to take part in war
• UK law allows for peaceful public protest but sometimes protests can turn violent and become a riot
• Retaliation is to fight against a country that has done something very wrong or to fight against a country that has attacked you
• The aim of terrorism is to make society aware of a cause or issue and to make people frightened to go about their business
• Just War Theory


  • Just Cause
  • Just Intention
  • Last Resort
  • Civilians must not be killed
• Some people justify the use of nuclear weapons at the end of WWII in Japan as it prevented more suffering even though 140,000 people died
• Reasons for War

  • Greed
  • Retaliation
  • To gain more land or control resources
  • Self-Defence
• The right to gather together and protest is a fundamental democratic freedom
• Holy War

  • A war fought for religious reasons, often with the backing of religious leaders
• Christians often protest unjust laws or for other forms of justice but would rarely advocate the use of violence in protest
• Christians don't promote political violence and believe terrorism is wrong as it targets innocent people
• Nuclear weapons and WMDs are not allowed under the Christian Just War Theory and would be rejected by most Christians
• Just War Theory is a Christian moral theory for working out if a war meets internationally accepted criteria for fairness