ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores diverse conceptions of peace in the Asian and Western historical worlds. It begins this task by exploring the diversity of past conceptualizations of peace across intellectual and religious cultures in Asia and the West before circa 1800. The book provides contemporary readers with new perspectives on peace by shedding light on certain overlooked or underappreciated visions of peace in the global historical landscape. Murray Rae reveals that theologians of the first three centuries of the Christian tradition were unanimous in their opposition to war and to the participation of Christians in military service. Kaushik Roy offers a panoramic view of the Hindu idea of peace from ancient times to the present. Nowadays, largely due to the achievements of Mahatma Gandhi, Hinduism is commonly regarded as a religion of peace.
