ABSTRACT
The chapter looks at two contradictory ethical motifs—the warrior and the pacifist—across four major faith traditions—Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and their role in shaping understanding of violence and the morality of its use. It analyses the specific faith traditions and addresses interfaith and trans-faith perspectives. Kevin P. Clements and Olivier Urbain selected and invited a group of scholars of religion and violence for an intensive session. Frydenlund begins with monastic support for state violence in the Sri Lankan civil war, and then explores both canonical and traditional sources regarding the use of force in public affairs. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians came together with a focus on problem-solving actions, made possible in part because of the status of religious clergy in Sri Lankan society as moral arbiters, especially at the community level. Buddhists have been addressing these issues for 2,500 years; they brought us together in Tokyo in spring of 2016 with generous funding from the Toda Foundation.
