Peace - Religious Beliefs and Peace

Religious Beliefs and Peace

"Peace of God" redirects here. For the medieval movement, see Peace and Truce of God.

Religious beliefs often seek to identify and address the basic problems of human life, including the conflicts between, among, and within persons and societies.

Many Christians call their prophet Jesus of Nazareth the "Prince of Peace", and see him as a messiah (savior or deliverer), the "Christ", who manifested as the Son of God on Earth to establish God's Kingdom of Peace, wherein persons, societies, and all of Creation are to be healed of evil. For persons to enter this Kingdom and experience peace, Christians believe that one must develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who stated: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." (Matthew 11:28-30) According to Pope Benedict XVI, "Peace is achieved by consciences that are open to the truth and to love". Elsewhere Benedict links peace to ecology: "humanity, if it truly desires peace, must be increasingly conscious of the links between natural ecology, or respect for nature, and human ecology. Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa. It becomes more and more evident that there is an inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among men. Both of these presuppose peace with God. The poem-prayer of Saint Francis, known as "the Canticle of Brother Sun", is a wonderful and ever timely example of this multifaceted ecology of peace".

Buddhists believe that peace can be attained once all suffering ends. They regard all suffering as stemming from cravings (in the extreme, greed), aversions (fears), or delusions. To eliminate such suffering and achieve personal peace, followers in the path of the Buddha adhere to a set of teachings called the Four Noble Truths — a central tenet in Buddhist philosophy.

Islam means submission. The title "Muslim"—etymologically directly related to salaam and the name Islam—means a person who submits to Allah in salaam. The submission to Allah (the Arabic proper noun for "The God", One and Only) is based on humility. An attitude of humility within one's own self cannot be accomplished without total rejection of violence, and a personal attitude and alignment toward peace.

See also: Catholic peace traditions and Peace in Islamic philosophy