Catholicism
“A united humanity will be able to confront the many troubling problems of the present time: from the menace of terrorism to the humiliating poverty in which millions of human beings live, from the proliferation of weapons to the pandemics and the environmental destruction which threatens the future of our planet.”
Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927) Access the complete Urbi et Orbi Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI from Christmas 2005.
“One of the most serious [challenges] is increased military spending and the cost of maintaining and developing nuclear arsenals. Enormous resources are being consumed for these purposes, when they could be spent on the development of peoples, especially those who are poorest. For this reason I firmly hope that, during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to be held this May in New York
Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927)Access the complete Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the Memebers of the Diplomatic Corps for the Traditional New Years Greetings.
“In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims. The truth of peace require that all-whether those governments which openly or secretly possess nuclear arms, or those planning to acquire them- agree to change their course by clear and firm decision and strive for a progressive and concerted nuclear disarmament. The resources which would be saved could then be employed in projects of development capable of benefiting all their people, especially the poor.”
Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927) Access the complete Message of his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace January 1, 2006.
“We cannot remain indifferent to what is happening around us, for the deterioration of any one part of the planet affects us all. Relationships between individuals, social groups and states, like those between human beings and the environment, must be marked by respect and “charity in truth”. In this broader context one can only encourage the efforts of the international community to ensure progressive disarmament and a world free of nuclear weapons, whose presence alone threatens the life of the planet and the ongoing integral development of the present generation and of generations yet to come.”
Pope Benedict XIV (b.1927) Access the complete Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace January 1, 2010.
“With the persistence of tensions and conflicts in various parts of the world, the international community must never forget what happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) Access the Address of His Holiness John Paul II to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Japan on their “Ad Limina” Visit on February 25, 1955
“In Catholic moral teaching, the end does not justify the means, but the end can and should inform the means. The moral end is clear; a world free of the threat of nuclear weapons. The goal should guide out efforts. Every nuclear weapons system and every nuclear weapons policy should be judged by the ultimate goal of protecting human life and dignity and the related goal of ridding the world of these weapons in mutually verifiable ways.”
Edwin F. O’Brien (b. 1939), Archbishop of Baltimore
“The existence of nuclear weapons in the world is a grave threat to peace and we need to abolish them.”
Archbishop Joseph Takami (b. 1946) of Nagasaki
“Therefore, we say it again: the arms race is an utterly treacherous trap for humanity… Since peace must be born of mutual trust between nations and not be imposed on them through a fear of the available weapons, everyone must labor to put an end at last to the arms race, and to make a true beginning of disarmament, not unilaterally indeed, but proceeding at an equal pace according to agreement, and backed up by true and workable safeguards.”
“We must continue to say No to the very idea of nuclear war. The eventual elimination of nuclear weapons is more than a moral ideal; it should be a policy goal.”
US Catholic Bishops.Access the full text of The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace 1993 Section I.B.2
“Nuclear abolition is the democratic wish of the world's people, and has been our goal almost since the dawn of the atomic age. Together, we have the power to decide whether the nuclear era ends in a bang or worldwide celebration.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu (b. 1931). Access the full article It's Time to Rid the World of Nuclear Weapons, May 22, 2010.
"Nuclear weapons cannot be justified and deserve condemnation. The world must move to the abolition of nuclear weapons through a universal, non-discriminatory ban with intensive inspection by universal authority."
Archbishop Renato Martino (b. 1932). Access the full Statement of His Excellency Archbishop Renato R. Martino Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations on Landmines
October 19, 1998.
October 19, 1998.
Lutheran
“We particularly urge a sharp reduction in the number of weapons of mass destruction. We call for arms control agreements that are substantial, equitable, verifiable, and progressive. We support mutual confidence-building measures to improve mutually assured security. In particular, we give priority to: agreements among the leading nuclear powers to reduce their nuclear stockpiles and to decrease the possibility of nuclear confrontation or accident; the successful negotiation of a renewed Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the strengthening of mechanisms to monitor and enforce nuclear treaties, and efforts that move toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.”
United Church of Christ
“Nuclear Weapons merit unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation”
Revered William Sloane Coffin Jr. (1924-2006), United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church
“Therefore, we say a clear and unconditional No to nuclear war and to any use of nuclear weapons. We conclude that nuclear deterrence is a position that cannot receive the church's blessing.”
United Methodist General Council. Access the full text of Saying No to Nuclear Deterrence, 2000.
“The greatest flaw is the belief that nuclear weapons should remain forever. In contrast, the voices of religion say that possession, threatened use, and actual use of nuclear weapons is immoral and that all nuclear weapons should be eliminated.”
Methodists United for Peace with Justice. Access the full text of “Nuclear Posture Review: A Flawed Proposal” From Peace Leaf, April 2002.
Baptist Churches
“We call on all nations to abolish their nuclear weapons and to dispose of such weapons in a manner that is not harmful to either the physical or political environment.”
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. Access the complete American Baptist Church Policy Statement on Peace.
Episcopal Churches
“[We] urge the Government of the United States
Episcopal Church General Council. Access the complete resolution to Support the Goal of Total Nuclear Disarmament.
Islam
“We must say to ourselves first and then to the world that we want a total and universal ban on the possession and production of nuclear weapons. All countries, starting with those that have the largest amount of nuclear weapons, should destroy these weapons. There should be a total ban on their production and testing. Nuclear technology should be used only for humanitarian and peaceful purposes.”
Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi. Access the complete statement, Nuclear Reduction and Disarmament Initiative.
Judaism
“At this crucial crossroads of history, we join to call on the world to recognize that violence begets violence; that nuclear proliferation benefits no one; that we can, we will, and we must find other ways to protect ourselves, our nations and our future: for it is not sufficient to have peace in our time, but, instead, we must leave a peaceful world to our children.”
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center
“From the prophets' dreams of the time when nations would beat their swords into plowshares to today’s aspirations of a nuclear-weapons-free world, we have sought to avoid armed conflict and not yield to despair in the search for universal peace. The nuclear threats from Iran , North Korea
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center
Presbyterian
“[We] have been guided by the understanding of peace as God’s intended life abundant as they have confronted issues related to nuclear weapons. Since 1946, assemblies, acting out of faith in Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace, have understood that working for God’s intended order and life abundant involves seeking international disarmament and arms control measures. They have called for a world free of nuclear weapons, ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty by the United States
Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. Access the complete text of A World Free from Nuclear Weapons.
“The 212th General Assembly (2000) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reaffirms its long-standing call to end the arms race and urges [the] adherence to and implementation of the treaties already ratified, such as the Chemical Weapons Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, or the Biological Weapon Convention; and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties I and II.”
-Presbyterian Church General Assembly (U.S.A)
Quakers
FCNL urges the United States
“Eliminating all nuclear weapons and any nuclear power projects which could contribute to weapons production. Testing of nuclear weapons by both explosion and simulation should be permanently halted worldwide, as should the development and production of fissionable materials.” http://www.zero-nukes.org/religiousstatements2.html#religioussocietyoffriends
Universal Unitarians
Affirming our conviction that serving life demands the selfless promotion of peace, the GA of the UUA has resolved to seek an end to the nuclear arms race....Believing that humankind is free to choose life, we denounce the blasphemy against life which is represented by the development, production, deployment and threatened use of nuclear weapons. Pledging, in our religious principles, to protect the Earth and interdependence of its living system we choose to create hope and the vision of a better world. We fulfill this pledge through our efforts to abolish all nuclear weapons from the face of the earth.
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America. Access the complete Nuclear Free Zone of the 1985 General Resolution.
Buddhism
“When you drop bombs on the enemy, you drop those same bombs on yourself, your own country.”
Thich Nhat Hahn, Buddhist Monk. Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, 2001.
Canadian Churches
Nuclear weapons in any form and in any number cannot ultimately be accepted as legitimate components of national armed forces.- Canadian Council of Churches http://www.zero-nukes.org/religiousstatements3.html#ccc
Interfaith Statements
"We deeply believe that the long-term reliance on nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the nuclear powers, and the ever-present danger of their acquisition by others, is morally untenable and militarily unjustifiable....National security imperatives and ethical demands have converged to bring us to the necessity of outlawing and prohibiting nuclear weapons worldwide."
Nuclear Reduction/ Disarmament Initiative. Access the complete Letter to President George W. Bush on Nuclear Posture Review on March 15, 2002.
“The threat and use of nuclear weapons is incompatible with civilized norms, standards of morality and humanitarian law which prohibit the use of inhumane weapons and those with indiscriminate effects. We say that a peace based on terror, a peace based upon threats of inflicting annihilation and genocide upon whole populations, is a peace that is morally corrupting.”
1999 Parliament of the World’s Religions. Access the complete text of A Moral Call to Eliminate the Threat of Nuclear Weapons.
“We call on all members of America
Reverend William Sloane Coffin, Faithful Security. Access the complete Call to Action on the Nuclear Weapons Danger.
“We favor a strong nonproliferation program that emphasizes diplomacy, reliance on multilateral regimes, controls on nuclear materials, and cooperative nuclear threat reduction.”
Nuclear Reduction/ Disarmament Initiative. Access the complete Letter to President George W. Bush on Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction onDecember 20, 2002.
“Nuclear weapons are a grave threat to human life. In addition to their profound danger, they also pose an inherent moral contradiction. On the one hand, our religious traditions affirm the ultimate value of each human life and call us to respect all life, while on the other nuclear weapons threaten indiscriminate death to massive numbers of people and threaten the global ecosystem on which all life depends.”
Religions for Peace Executive Committee on Nuclear Weapons. Access the full Statement on Nuclear Weapons.
"By far the greatest single danger facing human-kind, in fact, all living beings on our planet - is the threat of nuclear destruction. I would like to appeal to all the leaders of the nuclear powers who literally have the future of the world in their hands, to the scientists and technicians who continue to create these awesome weapons of destruction, and to all the people at large who are in a position to influence their leaders, I appeal to them to exercise their sanity and begin to work at dismantling and destroying all nuclear weapons. We know that in the event of a nuclear war there will be no victors, because there will be no survivors."
His Holiness the XVIth Dalai Lama. Access the Statement of support for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
“[Our goal is for] youth to call on the world’s religious believers and all people of goodwill to Abolish nuclear weapons; stop the proliferation and misuse of conventional weapons, Redirect 10% of military expenditure to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.”
Religions for Peace. Access the full text of Religions for Peace Campaign for Shared Security.
Daoism
The hi-tech wars that assume biochemical and nuclear weapons are especially threatening to both human life and its environment. Hence our Daoists advocate that (1) only by changing our attitudes to nature, recognizing the unity between man and nature, and following the way of nature can we realize sustainable development; (2) respect life, co n troll desire not kill animals and expand our benevolence to all creatures; (3) stop any war and resolve disputes by negation, stop any damage to the environment and live in natural ways.” Min Zhiting, President of the Chinese Taoist Association. Quoted in Daoism in China by Yi'e Wang, pg 186.
Hinduism
“Today, science is moving towards the path of destruction in the form of atomic power. In the ancient times, they used bow and arrow to destroy their enemies, but today due to science, the country is moving towards the path of destruction.”
His Holiness Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati guru of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam instituion. Access the full article, Religious Leaders Join Hands to Address Global Warming, Nuclear Armament.
"Peace is not just the absence of war and conflict; it goes well beyond that. Peace must be fostered within the individual, within the family and within society. Simply transferring the world's nuclear weapons to a museum will not in itself bring about world peace. The nuclear weapons of the mind must first be eliminated."
Mātā Amritanandamayī Devī, Hindu Spirtual Leader. Access the statements of Amma at the United Nations World Peace Summit in 2000.
“So far as I can see, the atomic bomb has deadened the finest feeling that has sustained for ages. There used to be so-called laws of war, which made it tolerable. Now we know the truth. War knows no law except that of might. The atomic bomb brought an empty victory but it resulted for the time being in destroying the soul of Japan
Mahatma Gandhi. Access the text of The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of his Writings on His Life, Work and Ideas.
Jainism
“It is through firm faith in mutual credibility and non-violence that humanity can get rid of this mad race for nuclear weapons and thus can solve the problem of its survival.”
Professor Sagarmal Jain at Jainism Studies Parshwanath Vidyapeeth Janist Institute. Access the complete text of The Solutions of World Problems from Jaina Perspective.
