Finally, religion has played a major role in inspiring individuals and groups working for peace. From St. Francis to male and female Nobel Laureates – Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and Jimmy Carter, Quakers Jane Addams and Emily Greene Balch, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, and Rigoberte Mechu Tum of Guatemala - these and many obscure individuals working in church peace groups whose efforts do not lag in spite of years of discouragement show the strong correlation of religious devotion and work for peace. There are also religious and secular peace organizations throughout the world: Roman Catholic, Sant Egido, Jewish, Peace Now in Israel, Buddhist, Savrodaya in Thailand and Sri Lanka, the originally Christian, Fellowship of Reconciliation and secular, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, War Resisters League. Roman Catholic and Protestant missionary work has for years sought better living conditions through education and health care, and major denominations have lobbies in Washington. The evangelical churches that often seek to avoid direct political contact in missionary work can have a social impact. The argument has been made that the Pentecostal revival in Latin and South America has done more to improve the status and reduce violence to women than all the international conferences. Like you, when I look at recent American foreign policy and elections, I despair. When we look at the response of the world to America’s second Gulf War and the work of a plethora of NGOs – religious and secular, there are, if not many, grounds for hope, reasons for action.
