Download Religion and War

1. To defend their country e.g WWII
2. To defend religious beliefs, political beliefs,
their freedom or way of life
3. To defend an ally or other nation
4.To gain wealth, power, land or resources
5. To remove their own government or leader
6. To stop atrocities e.g mass murder
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9/11 – Bin Laden and Al Qaeda flew the planes
into the twin towers
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At the time the Taliban government ruled
Afghanistan and allowed terrorist camp in
their country
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The Taliban refused to give up Bin Laden so
USA and Allies invaded and removed them
from government
1.
Some can be positive e.g Freedom /
removing a corrupt government / stopping
terrorism
2. Mostly death or injuries of those fighting
3. Infrastructure like the economy, schools,
water supplies, disease and famine can be
affected.
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Peace
The absence of conflict and a real sense of
well being or security. An inner peace of
prayer and meditation

Justice
Justice is treating people fairly. Without
justice there can’t be peace, unfairness leads
to conflict. Real peace exists with human
rights and no threat of oppression.
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Sanctity of life
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All life is special and should be respected at
all costs. In a war situation you should value
all life even the life of the enemy

Based on the belief that all violence is wrong.
War can never be justified it is against their
conscience "Conscientious objectors“

Some will work as first aid workers
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The Sanctity of life is the belief that all
human life is sacred, it is special and should
not be destroyed.

Christians believe that life is a gift from God it
should be respected at all costs.

Muslims believe that life is given by Allah and
he is the only one who should take it away.

Some Christians follow the example of Jesus
and follow peaceful means, they will die for
their beliefs but will not kill for them.

Often in times of war they will help with first
aid or ambulance drivers but not as troops.

The Quakers (type of Christian) put particular
emphasis on pacifism.

Muslims prefer to live in a peaceful and fair
world.

The Qur'an (holy writings) teaches that peace
is better than violence

Muslims try to forgive each other for wrong
doings

Allah (God) prefers peace to violence
1.
This is for the CHRISTIAN religion
and it is 7 conditions that must be
met for a war to be considered as
RIGHT
War must be declared by the head of state -
The Prime Minister – David Cameron
A just cause is
needed
A good reason to go to
war such as the defence
of the country or to stop
terrorism
The reason for War must be for good not
evil
You can not go to war with evil intentions
such as to wipe out another race of people
The war must be
a last resort
peace talks must
have taken
place
It must have a reasonable chance of
success
V
Just means – innocent people must be
protected and excessive force should not be
used
The war should only take place if the good
achieved will outweigh the evil that led to
the war

Holy war was a concept in ancient times that
people considered was a war for God. The
Crusades is a good example of this.
A Holy war must have three elements
1. War must have a religious goal
2. A religious leader must authorise the war
3. There must be a spiritual gain for those who
fight
1. To spread faith
2. To recover countries that used to follow the
religion
3. To rescue religious people in hostile countries
4. To re capture sacred places

It is allowed in self defense and to defend
Islam – or people who are oppressed.

A Jihad war is an idea that comes from the
Qur'an

War is permitted only when it is morally right
and under clear guidelines.

It is controlled by a religious leader
It has a Just Cause and is a Last Resort
Keep suffering to a minimum including the
environment
It is not for an act of aggression or to gain
territory

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The Red Cross has 97 million volunteers
worldwide. They are neutral in war. They help to
stop suffering without any discrimination of
nationality, religion or political opinion.

Part of the group is responsible for injured
soldiers, searching for missing people and
protecting civilians. They provide first aid care

Another part of the Red Cross responds when
there is a major disaster such as earthquakes or
tsunamis.

Irena Sendler was a Roman Catholic (Christian)
During the Nazi attack in WWII she was a
member of the Polish resistance who offered
Jews food and shelter.

They helped created over 3000 false documents
so Jewish families could avoid arrest.

She also organised the smuggling of Jewish
children from the Ghettos and placing them with
Polish families so they would be safe.

Born In Tibet
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China invaded Tibet and he fled to India

Came up with a 5 point peace plan

Refused to consider violence to win back his
country

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
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The UN was set up at the end of WWII and
now has 192 member states. Its aims are
To help countries cooperate with each other.
The protection of human rights – disable
mines
To establish world peace.
Sometimes the UN directly intervenes in a
conflict or it sends peace keeping forces to
help stop the fighting and protect the
civilians.

NATO was created as military alliance of 26
European countries, Canada and the USA, if a
NATO country is attacked then other members
of the alliance will come to their aid.

Terrorism is the unlawful use of extreme
violence to achieve a political goal. The object is
to achieve maximum publicity and terror. Most
people think that it can never be justified as it
harms innocent people

Biological weapons have bacteria or viruses
that can cause fatal diseases.

Chemical weapons were banned in 1925 but
have been used since. They can cause
choking, paralysis and damage to the
environment.

Nuclear weapons cause huge devastation.
First used against Japan (Hiroshima) they can
not only kill people by the initial blast but also
the radioactive property. Now nuclear
weapons have enough power to destroy life
on Earth several times over!
For
 A deterrent (Stops
people attacking the
country)

Stopped the fighting
in WWII which would
have resulted in the
death of many
soldiers
Against
 Unacceptable suffering to
innocent people

An irresponsible government /
terrorist might use them

Goes against the Just War
Theory because innocent
people are targeted

PROLIFERATION- spreading of
nuclear weapons country to
country