ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the goal of documenting the positions of leading ethicists and the major religious denominations in America concerning the moral issues of war. It aims to describe views on the validity of the just-war tradition in the nuclear age, the use of strategic and theater nuclear weapons, and the policy of nuclear deterrence. The chapter provides a summary analysis of positions documented and offers general observations concerning the current nuclear debate. Jewish bodies have published few statements on the issues of nuclear weapons. Jewish bodies have been reluctant to critize defense policies, including nuclear weapons policies. Reinhold Niebuhr identified the basic Issues which are still debated: defense by force in the nuclear age; the possession of nuclear weapons for deterrence; the "first use" or "retaliatory use" of nuclear weapons; the devastating capacity of nuclear weapons; and arms control.
