The All-Faiths Peace Conference (AFPC) continues the tradition of the Christian Peace Conference (CPC), founded in 1958, as its source of inspiration. The AFPC extends its goals and vision to people of all faiths. It is important therefore to look towards the Christian Peace Conference and take note of its goals and what drove its creation. The Christian Peace Conference had a lot of important achievements, including obtaining Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status at the United Nations.
The origin of the CPC, and the main motivation for creating it, was opposition to nuclear weapons. The growing nuclear arms race and the constant threat of war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. was a sobering realization that the sanctity of life on Earth could come to an end. At the 30th anniversary of the CPC, Hungarian Bishop Karoly Toth declared, “One point that should be quite clear is that in their protest and struggle against the nuclear threat these founders were motivated not by fear, but by a sense of responsibility and the commitment of the Christian faith.” This is a powerful message to us all: let all the faithful take on the responsibility to join together to prevent nuclear war.
The World has never been as close to nuclear midnight as it is today. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists now indicates that the Doomsday Clock, symbolizing the imminence of nuclear annihilation, is now only 90 seconds away from midnight. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are magnifying the threat of nuclear war.
The CPC also struggled for justice and human dignity in addition to its struggle for peace. The AFPC today calls for people of all faiths who share our values of love for human life and a commitment to peace to join us in this struggle. We must fight for world peace both from nuclear weapons and all forms of war. We must work in our communities and across the globe to bring about a world of peace and love. Continuing the work of the CPC helps make world peace a reality.
