Religion, philosophy and ethics · GCSE Religious Studies
Peace and conflict
Peace, justice, forgiveness, Just War, jihad, pacifism and nuclear weapons — when, if ever, religious ethics allow organised killing.
Just War tries to limit killing; pacifism refuses the premise.
The important bits
What you need to know
- 1
Peace is more than no shooting: it includes justice and right relationship (shalom). Reconciliation and forgiveness are Christian duties that do not automatically mean dropping a court case.
- 2
Violence, war and terrorism must be defined. Terrorism targets civilians to terrorise a population or state; almost all syllabus religions condemn it, including mainstream Islam, despite headlines.
- 3
Just War tradition (Augustine, Aquinas): jus ad bellum (just cause, lawful authority, right intention, last resort, reasonable chance of success, proportionality) and jus in bello (discrimination, proportionality). It is a restraint on war, not a cheer.
- 4
Holy war: in Christian history (Crusades) a disputed memory; Jesus’ “those who live by the sword” sits awkwardly with it. Islam’s lesser jihad can include armed defence under conditions (authority, not killing non-combatants, not starting from greed); greater jihad is the inner struggle.
- 5
Pacifism: Quakers and some Anabaptists refuse to fight. Jesus’ “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39) and “blessed are the peacemakers” (5:9) are the texts. Critics ask what pacifism does about genocide next door.
- 6
Nuclear weapons: deterrence versus the in-bello rule that you cannot discriminate. Many church statements (including popes) are hostile to use and increasingly to possession; some Christians accept deterrence as a tragic peace. Islam similarly struggles to justify city-killing weapons.
- 7
Victims of war: refugees, just post-war reconstruction, and whether forgiveness can be demanded of the raped and bereaved. Cheap grace is not reconciliation.
- 8
UK armed forces and the right of conscientious objection give a civic hook. Religious soldiers exist; so do religious COs.
Quotations worth analysing
Short evidence. Real method.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Peacemaking is an identity claim, not a hobby. Pacifists take it as a ban on killing; Just War Christians take it as a duty to build a just peace, sometimes by restraining an aggressor.
“Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.”
A classic lesser-jihad text: permission is bounded (those who fight you) and transgression is forbidden. Use it against both “Islam is pacifist” and “Islam commands terrorism”.
Go deeper
Just War is a speed bump, not a blank cheque
Aquinas did not write a manual for every invasion a government fancies. Just cause is usually defence against aggression, not loot. Lawful authority tries to stop private armies. Last resort forces negotiation first. Proportionality and discrimination are where modern war often fails: area bombing, nuclear city-targeting, and some drone strikes struggle to name combatants only. A Christian soldier can argue that defeating Nazi Germany met just-cause tests; a pacifist can answer that Dresden still failed in bello. Your 12-mark job is to apply the tests to a named conflict (Second World War, Iraq 2003, a civil war) rather than reciting six Latin labels and sitting down.
Go deeper
Jihad, stolen and restored
Greater jihad as inner struggle against sin is hadith-based teaching many Muslims will give you first, and it is legitimate. Lesser jihad as armed struggle has Qur’anic warrant in a world of persecution and of defence of the community. What it does not have in mainstream fiqh is a warrant for killing civilians, apostate neighbours, or cartoonists as a private hobby. Extremist groups quote isolated verses without the “do not transgress” clauses or the requirement of proper authority. In an exam, give the two-level definition, quote 2:190, condemn terrorism explicitly, and if evaluating, compare with Christian Just War: both try to fence violence; both have histories of people tearing the fence down.
Go deeper
Nuclear weapons break the old rules
A weapon that cannot be used without mass civilian death fails discrimination. Mutually assured destruction claims to keep peace by terror. Popes and many bishops have moved from reluctant tolerance of deterrence to calling the whole system immoral. A utilitarian might still say the bomb prevented a conventional third world war. The RS evaluation is: can a religious ethic accept peace bought by threatening millions of non-combatants? If you say no, you must face the security dilemma. If you say yes, you must face Matthew 5 and Qur’an 5:32. That discomfort is the point of the question.
See the idea in action
Question: “It is never right for a religious believer to fight in a war.” Evaluate. For: Quakers, Matthew 5, early church hesitation, greater jihad as the true fight, nuclear in bello failure. Against: Just War defence of the innocent, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s agonised resistance, Qur’an 2:190, police analogy (sometimes force stops a greater wrong). Judgement: never is too strong for most Muslims and many Christians; it is exactly the right word for a pacifist whose criterion is the Sermon on the Mount rather than state security. State which criterion you are using.
Exam technique
Turn knowledge into marks
Define terrorism as violence against civilians for a political or religious aim. Then say why it fails Just War and Islamic limits. Do not waste lines on “one man’s terrorist”.
Common mistakes
Do not give these marks away
- 01
Translating jihad only as “holy war against all non-Muslims”.
- 02
Listing Just War rules without applying them to an actual war.
- 03
Writing that all Christians are pacifists, or that Jesus’ teaching has no tension with later church armies.
What is the difference between greater jihad and lesser jihad in standard GCSE teaching?
AGreater jihad is terrorism; lesser jihad is fasting
BGreater jihad is the inner struggle to live faithfully; lesser jihad can include armed defence under strict conditions
CThey are two names for the Crusades
DLesser jihad is always compulsory for every Muslim every year
Show the answer
Greater jihad is the inner struggle to live faithfully; lesser jihad can include armed defence under strict conditions. This two-level definition stops the caricature. Armed jihad in mainstream teaching is bounded by justice rules, not a free-for-all, and the inner struggle is presented as the greater task.
Quick questions
If this is the bit you searched
Are the Crusades Just War or holy war?
Medieval popes framed them as holy. Many modern Christians judge them a failure of Jesus’ teaching and often of Just War discrimination. Use them as history, not as “what all Christians now want”.
Do Muslims have to be pacifists?
No. Mainstream teaching allows defensive war under conditions. Pacifism is a minority stance in Islam, more characteristic of some Christian groups such as Quakers.