Historic Peace Churches

Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches—Church of the Brethren; Religious Society of Friends (Quakers); and Mennonites, including the Amish, Old Order Mennonite, and Conservative Mennonites—and has been used since the first conference of the peace churches in Kansas in 1935.

The definition of "peace churches" is sometimes expanded to include Christadelphians (from 1863) and others who did not participate in the conference of the "historic peace churches" in Kansas in 1935. The peace churches agree that Jesus advocated nonviolence. Whether physical force can ever be justified, either in defending oneself or others, remains controversial. Many believers adhere strictly to a moral attitude of nonresistance in the face of violence. But these churches generally do concur that violence on behalf of nations and their governments is contrary to Christian morality.

Among all Christian denominations, there have always been groups of members who advocate nonviolence, but certain churches have consistently supported it since their foundation. Besides the three historic peace churches, they include the Amish,Old Order Mennonites, Conservative Mennonites, Hutterites,Old German Baptist Brethren,Old Order River Brethren, the Brethren in Christ, and others in the Anabaptist tradition; Doukhobors,Dunkard Brethren,Dukh-i-zhizniki,Bruderhof Communities,Schwenkfelders,Moravians, the Shakers, and even some groups within the Pentecostal movement. The largest Pentecostal church, the Assemblies of God, abandoned pacifism around the time of the Second World War. These groups have disagreed, both internally and with each other, about the propriety of non-combatant military roles, such as unarmed medical personnel, or performing non-battlefield services that assist nations in wartime, such as manufacturing munitions. One position might argue that Jesus would never object to helping people who are suffering, while another might object that doing so contributes indirectly to violence by freeing other people to engage in it.

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