Pacifism

Definition and Meaning

Pacifism is the position that regards war and violence as morally unacceptable and refuses to take up arms or use military means. Within Christianity the term covers a broad range of views. "Absolute pacifism" rejects all killing, while other positions seek to restrain violence as far as possible but allow it in unavoidable cases. The contrasting tradition is just war theory, which holds that a war meeting certain conditions may be permissible.

Biblical and Historical Background

Advocates of pacifism cite the following passages:

• The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, "Resist not evil" (Matthew 5:38-42)
• Love of enemies (Matthew 5:44)
• The scene in which Jesus told Peter to put away his sword (Matthew 26:52)
• The exhortation not to repay evil for evil (Romans 12:17-21)

Those on the other side cite Romans 13:3-4, which states that the governing authority bears the sword. They also point to Luke 3:14, where John the Baptist did not tell soldiers to abandon their profession.

Some of the early church fathers, such as Tertullian and Origen, are known to have viewed military service by Christians negatively. Later, Augustine laid the framework for just war theory, which became the mainstream position of the Western church.

During the Reformation, the Anabaptists rejected the Christian use of the sword (force) in the Schleitheim Confession of 1527. This tradition was carried on by the Mennonites, the Amish, and others. The Quakers, who emerged in the seventeenth century, likewise hold peace as a central testimony of their faith.

By contrast, Article 16 of the Lutheran Augsburg Confession and Chapter 23 of the Presbyterian Westminster Confession of Faith permit Christians to wage just war and to serve in the military.

Practice in the Korean Church

None of Korea's major denominations, including the Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, and Full Gospel churches, has adopted absolute pacifism as its official position. These denominations send military chaplains into the armed forces to minister to service members.

In the Korean church, "peace" has mainly been addressed in terms of inter-Korean reconciliation and peaceful reunification. A representative example is the "Declaration of the Churches of Korea on National Reunification and Peace," issued by the National Council of Churches in Korea in 1988.

Most conscientious objectors, that is, those who have refused military service on religious grounds, have been Jehovah's Witnesses, although a small number of cases involving Protestants are also known. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is known to have traditionally encouraged noncombatant service, in which members do not bear arms.

In 2018 the Constitutional Court ruled that the provision of the Military Service Act that failed to provide for alternative service was incompatible with the Constitution. In the same year the Supreme Court recognized conscientious objection as a justifiable reason that precludes punishment. As a result, an alternative service system was implemented beginning in 2020. Protestant responses to this process were divided. Some conservative church organizations expressed concern, citing issues such as fairness in military service, while some Christian organizations are known to have supported the introduction of the system from the standpoint of minorities' freedom of conscience.