Strive for World Peace through Work and Prayer A Speech Delivered at the World Council of the World Conference of Religions for Peace by Zhao Puchu, President of the China Committee on Religion and Peace
(June 25, 1986)
Nearly two years have passed since Nairobi Assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) was held in Kenya. At that conference, we aproved the Nairobi Declaration, and made many achievements. Since that conference, we have developed our cause and forged closer cooperative ties among us. Just as the Declaration states, “Despite our diversity of traditions, we are united in faith and hope, and in our common pursuit of human dignity and world peace.”
At that conference, we raised an urgent issue of our concern, that is, “Religion should strive for human dignity and world peace.”
The global reality is that the world remains turbulent. Although there has not been a new world war, the harsh reality indicates that threats of war, especially nuclear war, remain and we cannot but be deeply concerned about the spiraling arms race and its expansion toward outer space, the continuous upgrade of nuclear weapons, and many hotspots that would cause international crises. In the face of war threats, people of all countries have a more pressing aspiration for peace, for they know that only if there is peace, is there development, prosperity and happiness. Peace is the trend of times and the will of the people. We are happy to see such a strong call for peace and such a great passion for peacekeeping movement. This is a strong power of righteousness as opposed to any force that attempts to launch a new world war. We firmly believe that the world people will ensure lasting world peace through their awakening, unity and struggle.
It is a common starting point for each religion to wish mankind to live in harmony and enjoy long-term peace. To safeguard peace is a duty for all religious believers. In today’s world, people with religious faith account for more than half of the world population, becoming an important force to uphold world peace. In fact, religious people of all countries have never stood there doing nothing in the face of threats and challenges from the war forces. In the current peace movement, people of world religious circles expressed strong aspirations for peace on different occasions and in different ways, making persistent efforts to safeguard world peace. Religious believers across the world should unite more closely to work for the common sublime goal of world peace, regardless of country, region, nationality, race, and religious belief and sect. They should aim at world peace and people’s happiness and follow the principles of equality and fairness to cope with and eliminate opposition and strife left over by history. We should strengthen our unity and cooperation with all peace forces. We should make more efforts in wider aspects to arouse people’s conscience and promote world peace. Meanwhile, we call on superpowers to keep in mind the benefits of the whole mankind, stop their dangerous arms race, seriously cut down nuclear armaments and conventional weaponry, eliminate mutual distrust on the basis of common understanding, and go steadily toward a comprehensive destruction of nuclear weapons. We believe that the international situation will be eased and the peace of mankind will get more guarantees so long as all the forces for world peace unite and collaborate to play a positive influence of each country’s religious circles.
Today, the world has rivalry between the East and the West as well as huge economic disparities and wealth gaps between the North and the South. It is such rivalry and gaps that make it impossible to achieve regional and global stability. In our opinion, the world is an interconnected one, and its stability and development cannot be based on prosperity and wealth of only a few countries as well as hunger, cold and poverty of a majority of countries. Therefore, religious people from all countries should, in line with the spirit of universal love, actively take part in the activities to help the third world shake off hunger and poverty. This is of great importance to safeguarding world peace. At the same time, we also call on developed countries to adopt better policies to try to help impoverished countries on the principle of mutual benefit.
Today’s world is rife with many regional conflicts of various causes, forms and complications. But subjectively speaking, the conflicts are often manifested in antagonism, stubborn standpoints and unwillingness to give in among the conflicting parties. This, however, would generate a deeper hatred. We are convinced that it is not impossible to properly resolve the conflicts if the conflicting parties can communicate well, reach an understanding, and give an objective and rational analysis of the situation on the basis of people’s interests. Religious people as a bridge between different countries and ethnic groups can give a play to their advantage in terms of easing the above-mentioned conflicts.
To further enhance the unity between religious people of different countries is another important aspect of upholding world peace. Due to the dissimilarity in time, region and cultural background, all religions, in spite of variations in doctrines, aim to help people get away from greed and cruelty, guide them toward peace and happiness, and lead them to reach consummation in spiritual realm and strive for the wellbeing of humankind. Human beings vary in mind and personality and thus have different lifestyles. Each religion, suited to its own different environment, has its own merits; it can attain peace and happiness in different ways. Therefore, we hold that each religion has made its unique contribution. If we respect each other’s doctrines, acknowledge each other’s merits, and at the same time seek for common ground of all religions, we will certainly build trust and strengthen unity among us on a new foundation. This will exert a profound influence in world peace. As an international organization of multiple religions for peace, WCRP can play a positive role in strengthening the unity of world religious people and eliminating religious antagonism and strife in some regions.
The Chinese people are peace-loving, so are the Chinese religious believers. The UN General Assembly has acknowledged this year as international year of peace. On March 21 this year, a conference for upholding world peace by the Chinese people was held in Beijing, capital of China. Premier Zhao Ziyang delivered an important speech at the conference, in which Zhao expressed the Chinese people’s deepest aspiration for peace and their determination to strengthen unity with people of other countries and safeguard peace, and clarified the Chinese government’s independent foreign policy for peace and its basic standpoints and views on disarmament. The Chinese people with religious faith regard the upholding of world peace as their sacred and unshirkable responsibility. In June last year, the China People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament was established and joined by all national religious organizations in China. During the fourth plenary session of the Sixth Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference held in April this year, the religious deputies at this conference issued a call to religions throughout the country, asking them, according to their traditions and habits, to perform nationwide solemn prayer rites of peace on the occasion of the WCRP World Council convened in Beijing in June this year, and expecting to convey Chinese believers’ faith in upholding peace and their voice in demanding peace to religious people of other countries. This proposal was soon welcomed by religious people across China, and an unprecedented peace prayer rite is being solemnly held at religious sites throughout the country. We the Chinese religious people have profoundly realized that as members of the big family of humanity, we have our fate closely tied to that of humanity, and we have the same sense of responsibility for humanity’s peace and happiness. Thus, we earnestly expect to establish more extensive and deeper contact with religious people of other countries in the world, so that we can deepen mutual understanding, learn others’ strengths, and improve mutual unity. No matter how devious and long the path of upholding peace is, we will firmly keep to it. And we are convinced that the trend of peace of our times is unstoppable, and the ideal of lasting peace for mankind will be realized.
