Why is it that peace-espousing faiths are often associated with some kind of violence occurring in the world?
The conundrum, posed by a member of the audience, served as a thread of discussion during "Non-Violence: Philosophy and Practice in World Religions," a event presented by The Interfaith Alliance Hawai‘i on Thursday at Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin.
The discussion was led by a panel that included two Middle East scholars, Dale Bishop and the Rev. David Greenhaw, president of the progressive United Church of Christ-associated Eden Theological Seminary in Missouri; and the Rev. Damayanthi Niles, also an Eden professor of theology.
Among the local speakers: Imam Ismail M.M. Elshikh, head of the Muslim Association of Hawaii’s mosque in Manoa; Rabbi Peter Schaktman of the O‘ahu Jewish ‘Ohana; and Bishop Eric Matsumoto, head of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
Schaktman said all religions grapple with questions such as "How do we reconcile or understand how so many traditions that preach peace are so involved in nonpeaceful activities?"
"We’re talking about sincere people of faith who convince themselves that it is a part of that faith to engage in violence even though their faith teaches nonviolence," he said.
Greenhaw said, "As nations, we’re not exhausting possibilities of peace vigorously enough. Therefore our religious communities need to advocate differently."
"Part of it is, we think we’re begetting peace by trying to clear all the debt (of past grievances)," Niles said, adding, "There is a sense that if I can reorder the landscape so we can live peacefully — rather than allowing the landscape to sprout peace — we’re better off."
Elshikh said people who "abuse religion … justify their actions under the umbrella of religion. They use their religion for political or other reasons because it is very easy to convince people when you talk from a religious perspective." He said Islam is now often linked with violence in the media because of the crises in Iraq and Syria and the terrorism of ISIS, also known as the Islamic State.
But making such a link, he said, is "completely wrong" because Islam is a religion of peace.
One audience member said religious institutions have pushed nations into war, and such actions should be stopped.
In response, Greenhaw said, "We need to call our religious institutions to account — to be real promoters of peace, not just words, but action as well."
When an audience member criticized extensive use of U.S. military power in the world, Greenhaw agreed with the sentiment.
"I don’t think we take the hard way; we take the fast, military way. (We need to) stop imagining that the people to be killed can only be counted on your side; we need to always ask how many people were killed of all God’s creatures."
Niles said, as a Christian from Sri Lanka, "I come from a world of war," where Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians "live in a state of violence" that has been going on for untold generations. "The job of a Christian minister is to make it possible for all people, not just Christians, to have their voice heard and live in (peace)."
