Conference Statement

Transcending Boundaries: Exploring a Culture of Peace

Final Statement of the Conference
"The Role of Religion to Overcome Violence without Violence"
Cipayung, Indonesia, 15-20 August 2005

1. "On 15-20 August 2005, the Christian Conference of Asia sponsored an Interfaith Conference on the theme: "The Role of Religion to Overcome Violence without Violence." The conference, held in Cipayung, West Java, Indonesia, brought together 39 participants from 10 Asian countries, followers of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam who are involved in building peace.

2. We, the participants of this conference, at the conclusion of our days together, want to share our reflections with our co-religionists, with people of ideologies, and with all persons of good will committed to a culture of peace and an affirmation of life. The reason we took part in the conference was to explore and begin to address the root causes of the manifest ills facing humankind today. We know that religion is often accused of being the source of violent conflict and war, a disruptive force in society, a factor that leads to fanaticism and hatred for others. As religious believers who are committed to building just, peaceful, and harmonious societies, we wanted to take seriously these accusations, to evaluate them and see how much of truth there is in them, but, at the same time, we sought to explore the ways in which our religions might become more effective tools for peacemaking and reconciliation, and for promoting the welfare of all.

3. We acknowledge the ambiguous role in society that religious affiliation has often played in the past, and we admit that our religions have too often been misused for personal or political ends. However, our common vision regards religion as teaching a way to build true fellowship and cooperation among peoples, and thus we commit ourselves to exploring the liberative dimensions of all paths to the sacred. Our religions challenge our complacency and dare us to become a voice for the voiceless, to speak out on behalf of the many victims of war, domestic and communal violence, injustice, and vested interests that are inflicted upon our peoples. In the name of our respective faiths, we renounce militarism, terrorism, and violence against innocent person as ways to resolve conflicts, promote political agenda, or express convictions, just as we denounce all efforts to impose a global hegemony of economic, military, religious or cultural domination over the peoples of the world.

4. We affirm our solidarity with all those who are working actively for justice and peace and for humane, compassionate causes. We are committed to expanding the space for active non-violent resistance to the forces of evil. The struggle of millions around Asia against poverty and for the basic necessities of life - for food, land, shelter, and livelihood - must be a part of the religious and socio-political commitment of us all. The longing of many others that their human dignity and worth be recognized and respected should find an open ear among the followers of religions.

5. We affirm, moreover, the spiritual aspirations of the peoples of Asia. We acknoweldge the power of spirituality as a rich resource for nurturing people of faith in our common struggle for peace and justice. We are called upon to harness our faith and religiosity to transform society. We recognize that the human spirit can never be satisfied by devoting itself to the accumulation of consumer goods and the enjoyment of fleeting pleasures. From our religions we learn that we are more than this, that our lives have a deeper meaning and purpose; our faiths invite people to explore the spiritual dimensions of life, to do the will of the Source of life, to work for the oppressed and the disadvantaged and, ultimately, to follow the transforming path to Truth. This we call Peace, and it is this peace that we desire not only for ourselves, but for all.

6. We believe that all religious leaders, as well as ordinary believers, should challenge the threats to peace and justice by those who are ready to do violent harm to others in order to attain their goals. But in opposing the violent, we must not become what we oppose. Our tools must be those of education, the exercise of self-critical judgment, grass-roots interaction and community organization, social movements and mass struggles, advocacy, solidarity with victims, development of civil society, and promotion of interreligious cooperation. Our professional commitments provide an arena for building communities of peace for all and, in democratic systems, the ballot box can be a key political institution for the election of peace-oriented candidates.

7. Beyond these measures of conscientization and political mobilization, we acknowledge the need to come to know each other better. In our attitudes towards the followers of other religions, we are all strongly influenced by prejudices, stereotypes, half-truths, and misunderstandings that have been handed down from generation to generation. We all carry about with us the "burdens of history," the unhappy memories of occasions on which our community has suffered at the hands of others. It is only by coming to know one another personally and by building a slow process of mutual trust that we will be able to accept fully our neighbors of other faiths.

8. The techniques of peace-building are often expressed in terms of "interfaith dialogue". The idea of dialogue has sometimes come under suspicion, because people mistakenly understand it as leading to compromise of religious values or surrender of social ideals. However, by dialogue we mean a way of sincerely living our respective faiths, in full respect for the beliefs and practices of the followers of other religions. Dialogue must not remain at the level of words, but should lead us to efforts of cooperation and solidarity for the good of all. In all things, we are aware that our efforts, if they are to be effective, must arise from the force of love.

9. Ours is a small multifaith network, yet we feel the need to engage in cooperative projects, if our dialogue is to go beyond simple analysis and discussion. People need to see believers from diverse faith traditions working together for the good of our societies. In addition to proposing various national initiatives of interfaith cooperation, our reflections on the needs of Asian societies today have led us to set the following priorities for the Asian region:

1. Create a data base on interfaith groups and initiatives
2. Identify and publicize the plight of neglected and mistreated groups
3. Petition forums for peace and democracy to focus on the Kashmir issue
4. Through youth camps, summer programs, and interfaith student organizations, help young people to address issues of globalization, poverty, education and health
5. Develop action programs for non-violent protest and advocacy
6. Prepare together healing programs for asylum-seekers and undocumented migrant workers
7. Set up a mechanism to monitor and expose irresponsible reporting in the media on matters pertaining to religion and religious affiliation
8. Promote the sharing of resources among interfaith communities.

10. In the past, peace-building has not often been seen as a central concern of communities of faith. The fact that in Asia people of diverse religions have usually lived together peacefully could blind us to the real threats to communal harmony that we face in many Asian countries. It is only by confronting these challenges together that we can hope to find ways to overcome violence by non-violent means and to transform conflict into positive social change. The commitment to work together, as people of various faiths and religious convictions, for more just, peaceful, and humane societies was one of the most important outcomes of our consultation.