Faith Curriculum Library: Curricula and Resources for Co-creating Lifespan Faith Engagement

Workshop 3: Philosophical and Ethical Questions about War and Peace

Part of Military Ministry Toolkit for Congregations

Introduction

This workshop considers issues which have engaged philosophers, ethicists, and people of conscience for centuries, giving participants the opportunity to explore ideas in a covenanted faith community. The moral issues surrounding war and peace challenge all people in our congregation, not only those who serve or have served in the armed forces. This workshop will draw out some of the differing views of participants by looking at the ways Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists in the U.S. have responded to war over the course of this nation’s history. Participants will contribute their own stories of moral responses to war and peace. The workshop introduces “just war” theory and pacifism, and explores the idea of a “third way” which has arisen in response to the perceived inadequacies of both philosophies in our contemporary world. It includes a brief look at the Unitarian Universalist Association’s 2010 Statement of Conscience on Creating Peace.

If a congregation is to have an effective ministry to military personnel, veterans, and their families, the ethical, moral, and philosophical questions about war, as well as cultural assumptions about those who serve or do not serve in wartime, must be freely examined in all their complexity. Our ethical response to the problem of war must simultaneously hold a particular war and the whole of the cultural and political history of warfare in mind. For participants to negotiate these topics respectfully in a covenanted setting gives us all cause for hope that Unitarian Universalists can approach these topics respectfully in the wider congregation and in the wider world.

Opening (10 minutes)

Materials

  • Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED/battery-operated candle
  • Covenant from Workshop 1

Description

Light the chalice. Share these words from President Barack Obama’s 2009 Nobel speech:

The soldier’s courage and sacrifice is full of glory, expressing devotion to country, to cause, to comrades in arms, but war itself is never glorious. And we must never trumpet it as such. So part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly irreconcilable truths: that war is sometimes necessary, and war, at some level, is an expression of human folly.

Invite each person to introduce themselves. Share these or similar words:

If a congregation is to have an effective ministry to military personnel, veterans, and their families, the ethical, moral, and philosophical questions about war, as well as cultural assumptions about warfare, must be freely examined in all their complexity and not oversimplified. Our ethical response to the problem of war must simultaneously hold a particular war and the whole of the cultural and political history of warfare in mind. If we can negotiate these topics respectfully in a covenanted setting, it is cause for hope that Unitarian Universalists can approach these topics respectfully in the wider congregation and in the wider world. Consider that the quality of our group process together as we talk about issues of war and peace might be a measure of the ministry that we have the capacity to offer within and beyond the walls of our congregations.

Review the covenant from Workshop 1. Invite people to affirm the group covenant as they move into the conversation about the ethics and philosophy of war and peace. Tell them that while you hope the conversation will be rich, it will truly only scratch the surface, and that there will be resources provided for further individual and group study and discussion.

Activity 1: Moral Responses to United States Wars (25 minutes)

Materials

Preparation

Copy the handout for participants.

Write on newsprint and post:

  • When have you engaged with moral, ethical, or philosophical questions of war and peace? Consider a single action or position you took regarding issues of war and peace at some time in your life. Alternatively, share such a story from a loved one.
  • What were the circumstances? What were the outcomes of your (or your loved one’s) actions or your position
  • Was your (or your loved one’s) action or position in any way connected with religious faith? Was it connected with Unitarian Universalism?
  • Was your (or your loved one’s) action or position in any way connected with a deeply held moral, ethical, or philosophical stance?
  • What, if anything, would you change if you had the chance for a “do-over”? Do you have any regrets or does your loved one have any regrets?

Description

Invite participants to consider the varying responses Unitarian Universalists have had to war over the course of history, explaining that the primary focus of your inquiry will be the wars within living memory of participants. For the purposes of this discussion, living memory includes accounts about particular wars participants received from parents, grandparents, and other significant relationships. Distribute the handout and ask participants to read it.

Invite participants to move into groups of three and to use the questions posted on newsprint to share their own experiences. Explain: Each person in the triad will have four minutes to share. After all three have shared, the group will have three minutes more to respond to one another’s stories. Say that you will keep time and tell them when to switch speakers.

After the sharing time, call participants back to the large group. Invite brief comments about the exercise of sharing stories.

Activity 2: Peacemaking (20 minutes)

Materials

Preparation

  • Copy the handouts for participants.
  • Optional: Preview the video of President Obama’s 2009 Nobel Prize speech. If you will have Internet access and wish to show all, arrange to extend this workshop.

Description

Explain that much of Western ethical thought on war and peace has fallen into two different philosophical approaches, “just war” and pacifism. Distribute Handout 2, Just War Theory and Handout 3, Pacifism. Invite participants to read them fully at their leisure. Point out the bolded portion of the Just War handout and read it aloud, emphasizing the four components of Just War. Ask:

  • Is this approach adequate for the challenges of our current time?
  • What possible problems do you see with this approach?

Point out the bolded portion of the Pacifism handout. Read that section aloud. Ask:

  • Is this approach adequate for the challenges of our current time?
  • What possible problems do you see with this approach?

Allow about five minutes for each handout.

Distribute Handout 4, Peacemaking.

Invite participants to read it to themselves or have a volunteer read it aloud.

Lead a discussion, pointing out that Unitarian Universalist ethicists are making an important contribution to the development of this ethical framework. Mention that the UUA’s 2010 Creating Peace Statement of Conscience is available online and that there are discussion resources to go with it, should your congregation be interested in pursuing the questions in this workshop further. Ask:

  • How might it change our congregation’s response to military personnel, veterans, and their families if we viewed military action through a “peacemaking” framework?

Mention that peacekeeping is an ethical framework that was outlined by President Obama in his Nobel Prize lecture in December 2009. Invite participants to view the 37-minute speech at home. (Send the link afterward.)

If there is interest, help the group schedule a time to view and discuss the President’s speech with the entire congregation.

Closing (5 minutes)

Materials

  • Chalice and candle or LED/battery-operated candle

Description

Close by reading two excerpts from the Creating Peace UUA Statement of Conscience:

I.

For Unitarian Universalists, the exercise of individual conscience is holy work. Conscientious discernment leads us to engage in the creation of peace in different ways. We affirm a range of individual choices, including military service and conscientious objection (whether to all wars or particular wars), as fully compatible with Unitarian Universalism. For those among us who make a formal commitment to military service, we will honor their commitment, welcome them home, and offer pastoral support. For those among us who make a formal commitment as conscientious objectors, we will offer documented certification, honor their commitment, and offer pastoral support.

II.

Our faith calls us to create peace, yet we confess that we have not done all we could to prevent the spread of armed conflict throughout the world. At times we have lacked the courage to speak and act against violence and injustice; at times we have lacked the creativity to speak and act in constructive ways; at times we have condemned the violence of others without acknowledging our own complicity in violence. We affirm a responsibility to speak truth to power, especially when unjust power is exercised by our own nation. Too often we have allowed our disagreements to distract us from all that we can do together. This Statement of Conscience challenges individual Unitarian Universalists, as well as our congregations and Association, to engage with more depth, persistence, and creativity in the complex task of creating peace.

Extinguish the chalice.