World peace and religious organisations in Christianity and Islam: HSC Studies of Religion

Criteria (NESA 2022 marking guidelines, Q33). 17 to 20: a sustained, reasoned response "with clear and comprehensive evidence of analysis" on how TWO religious traditions encourage adherents to seek peace in order to transform the world, detailed and accurate information, and the quotation integrated effectively. 13 to 16: clear evidence of analysis, quotation integrated. 9 to 12: some detail, refers to the quotation. 5 to 8: general statements about at least ONE tradition. 1 to 4: general statements.

Plan (Christianity and Islam, the traditions in NESA's "answers could include").

1. Thesis. Both traditions agree with the stimulus: inner stillness (peace with God) is the foundation, and it must become action that transforms the world.
2. Christianity: stillness. Peace "derived from a relationship with Christ ('My peace I leave with you')"; peace as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) (NESA).
3. Christianity: transformation. "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9); "Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding" (Romans 14:19); Jesus sought out the outcast; the Kingdom of God. Evidence: Pax Christi, Sant'Egidio's mediation of the 1992 Mozambique peace agreement.
4. Islam: stillness. Submission and the greater jihad against the nafs "provides inner stillness" (NESA).
5. Islam: transformation. Justice and taqwa, "being upholders of justice" (4:135); "Allah does not like corrupters" (5:64); organisations named by NESA: the Affinity Intercultural Foundation, Coalition of Women for Peace and Muslims4Peace; Islamic Relief.
6. Analyse and qualify. NESA notes that "contemporary media outlets challenge the assertion" that adherents seek peace to transform the world; weigh this against texts and initiatives.

Source: NESA, 2022 HSC Studies of Religion II examination and marking guidelines.

Criteria (NESA 2023 marking guidelines, Q33). 17 to 20: a sustained, reasoned response "with clear and comprehensive evidence of evaluation" on how TWO religious traditions encourage adherents to respond to the issue of peace, detailed and accurate information, quotation integrated effectively. 13 to 16: clear evidence of evaluation. 9 to 12: some detail. 5 to 8: general statements. 1 to 4: general statements about religion and/or peace.

Plan with a world peace emphasis. "Evaluate" requires criteria: judge each tradition's response by the strength of its teaching, the reach of its organisations and its record.

1. Accept the stimulus, then extend it. Both traditions say inner peace comes first; both also say justice in the world is required (Catechism 2304: peace is "the work of justice"; Qur'an 5:8).
2. Christianity: response. Teaching (Matthew 5:9, 5:44; Pacem in Terris, 1963; the World Day of Peace since 1968); organisations (Pax Christi, the World Council of Churches, Act for Peace, Caritas); interfaith (the Document on Human Fraternity, 2019).
3. Islam: response. Teaching (8:61, 5:32, 49:13); scholarly statements (the Amman Message, 2004; A Common Word, 2007; the Marrakesh Declaration, 2016); organisations (Islamic Relief, Affinity).
4. Evaluate. Strengths: global reach, credibility in mediation, relief of the injustice that breeds conflict. Limits: historical violence in both traditions, internal division, media perception.
5. Judgement on how effective each response is.

Source: NESA, 2023 HSC Studies of Religion II examination and marking guidelines.

Criteria (Original). 5: explains the organisation's origin and teaching, specific work and how that work addresses a cause of conflict or builds peace, with accurate detail. 3 to 4: describes the work with a link to peace. 1 to 2: names an organisation and states that it helps peace.

Model using Pax Christi. Pax Christi was founded in France on 13 March 1945 by Marthe Dortel-Claudot with Bishop Pierre-Marie Theas of Montauban, to pray and work for reconciliation between French and Germans after the Second World War. It grew into Pax Christi International, the Catholic peace movement, which received the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 1983. Grounded in "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9), it works through peace education, advocacy for disarmament and human rights, and support for nonviolent peacebuilders in conflict zones. Pax Christi Australia continues this work locally, and NESA's 2021 guidelines name it as an example. Its contribution is to address the causes of war (hatred, injustice, weapons) rather than only its effects.

Jesus teaches, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9). Peace is therefore not only something Christians receive but something they must actively make, by reconciling people in conflict, working for justice and rejecting violence. The Catechism adds that peace "is the work of justice and the effect of charity" (Catechism 2304), so Christians work on the causes of conflict such as poverty and injustice.

Marking: 1 for the teaching, 1 for its source, 1 for how it leads to action for world peace.

Teaching

The Qur'an commands believers to be "persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves" (4:135) and "do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just" (5:8). Allah "orders justice and good conduct ... and forbids ... oppression" (16:90).

Why justice matters for peace

Injustice, oppression and poverty are major causes of conflict. By requiring justice even towards enemies, the Qur'an removes the grievances that lead to war.

In practice

Zakat redistributes wealth; organisations such as Islamic Relief (founded 1984) respond to disasters and poverty in conflict zones; the Marrakesh Declaration (2016) applied the principle of justice to the rights of religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries.

Marking (Original): 5 for accurate teachings with verses, a clear causal link from justice to peace, and specific examples.

Contribution

Interfaith initiatives address religious misunderstanding, one cause of conflict. A Common Word Between Us and You (2007) invited Christians and Muslims to peace on the shared basis of love of God and neighbour; the Document on Human Fraternity (2019), signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, led the United Nations to proclaim 4 February the International Day of Human Fraternity. Locally, the Affinity Intercultural Foundation builds friendship between Muslims and other Australians.

Limits

Dialogue among leaders does not automatically reach ordinary adherents or armed groups, and it cannot on its own resolve political or economic causes of conflict.

Judgement

Interfaith dialogue makes a real but indirect contribution: it builds trust and undermines the religious justification of violence, which gives other peace work a foundation.

Marking (Original): 5 for specific examples, strengths and limits, and a clear judgement.

Thesis

Christianity and Islam contribute to world peace through their teaching, their leaders, their organisations and their dialogue with each other; the contribution is substantial, although both carry a history that complicates it.

Christianity: teaching and leadership

Matthew 5:9; Matthew 5:44; Catechism 2304; Pacem in Terris (1963); the World Day of Peace (1968 onwards).

Christianity: organisations

Pax Christi International (1945); the World Council of Churches (1948), which ran the Decade to Overcome Violence (2001 to 2010); Sant'Egidio's mediation in Mozambique (1992); Caritas and Act for Peace for relief and refugees; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission led by Desmond Tutu.

Islam: teaching

8:61; 5:32; 49:13; 4:135; 41:34; the Prophet's Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (628).

Islam: scholars and organisations

The Amman Message (2004); A Common Word (2007); the Marrakesh Declaration (2016); Islamic Relief (1984); the Affinity Intercultural Foundation in Sydney.

Together

The Document on Human Fraternity (2019).

The other side

Crusades, sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, terrorism claiming Islamic justification and anti-Muslim violence show that religion has also been used to fuel conflict; many conflicts labelled religious are also political and ethnic.

Judgement

On balance both traditions make a significant positive contribution, strongest where teaching becomes organised, sustained action; the misuse of religion is condemned by the mainstream bodies of both.

Marking (Original): top band needs both traditions, specific dated examples, points for and against, and a sustained judgement.