FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
- Jimmy McCarty, Ph.D.: jwmccar@uw.edu
- Eli McCarthy, Ph.D.: esm52@georgetown.edu, 510-717-8867
Eighty-one Christian scholars from across the U.S. are united in the “commitment to human flourishing and ecological care as well as the cultivation of a sustainable just peace.” These scholars represent various Christian communities as well as a diversity of perspectives on issues of war and peacemaking.
In light of the shared commitment, they issued a profound statement to express “strong opposition to the current sky-high Pentagon budget and recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) top-line of $768 billion. We urge Congress to reduce Pentagon spending in the appropriations bills for FY 2022 and set a trajectory of practical reductions in this area, as well as reductions in nuclear weapons.” In the NDAA, Congress authorized an extra $25 billion for the Pentagon beyond President Biden’s request.
The scholars point out that “we are struggling to end a deadly pandemic, deal with the looming climate crisis, confront racial injustice, prevent violence in our own streets, secure badly-needed relief for working people all over the country, address mental health challenges, and care for those living in poverty.”
In turn, oriented by the vision of a just peace they argue that “we urgently need to shift our security and foreign policy strategy to focus on a policy framework of 1) cultivating the habits and skills of constructive conflict, 2) breaking cycles of violence, and 3) building a more sustainable peace. These 3 strategic foci draw us to invest in peacebuilding, nonviolent resistance movements, diplomacy, and development programs.”
As congress debates an appropriations package for FY 2022, the signees call for a first step “to redirect the extra $25 billion toward accounts like the Complex Crisis Fund, Prevention and Stabilization Fund, UN Peacebuilding Fund, as well as the U.S. Institute of Peace and Unarmed Civilian Protection programs.”