Religions for Peace

I recently discovered an organization called, Religions for Peace. The organization was founded in 1970 and claims that it is the largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s great religions dedicated to promoting peace. The organization dedicates itself to stopping war, ending poverty and protecting the earth. Based  in New York City, the organization has Dr. William F. Vendley as its Secretary General.


Religions for Peace is currently furthering a campaign for shared security called, Arms Down! The campaign has the three goals of 1) abolishing nuclear weapons, 2) stopping the proliferation and misuse of conventional weapons, and 3) redirecting 10% of military expenditure to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. At its campaign page, signers can petition to ask all governments to make an official pledge to cut their military budgets by 10% and to re-allocate those funds toward development.


Recently, Religions for Peace sent a letter to Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, on behalf of Middle East peace. The letter called for the inclusion of the Abrahamic faiths in the peace process:



We believe that seeds of genuine peace can be found within the elements of a vision of peace shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We further believe that these seeds need to be watered by principled multi-religious cooperation. We are convinced that such multi-religious cooperation is an irreplaceable dimension of the genuine search for a just and comprehensive peace, and therefore must be appropriately linked to the diplomatic peace process.


In response to the attacks on Christians gathered in church for prayer and those on Muslims on pilgrimage in the nation of Iraq, Religions for Peace expressed its deep sorrow about the violence against the religious communities. "We extend our sympathy to Christians and Muslims in Iraq who have suffered violent attacks, grieving with them for those who have died and suffering with them for those who have been wounded," they said.