Pacifists are people who are against violence, war and armed confrontation. They follow a social movement called pacifism. As a rule, these people use only peaceful means of resistance to violence, for example, demonstrations, including the so-called "rallies, " when protesters form a camp.
Pacifism history
Exploring world history, you can find many ethnic groups that profess pacifism. For example, this is the Moriori people who inhabited one of the islands of New Zealand in the distant past. He adhered to religious beliefs prohibiting war and constructed confrontations. True, the fate of these people was sad: Maori tribes landed on the island, who did not have such bans. They were able to easily enslave Moriori.
Researchers also note one of the branches of Hinduism, Jainism. This is a religious movement, pacifist in nature, and it occupies an important part in shaping the cultural characteristics of modern India. But Jainism should not be confused with Buddhism: the latter does not at all imply pacifism. Buddhist monks were often warriors, and some famous forms of wrestling and military gymnastics were developed precisely in Buddhist monasteries.
In the history of Europe, the first pacifists can be called the Stoics. Since ancient Greek culture influenced the entire subsequent civilization of European countries, it can be safely stated that pacifism is to some extent one of its facets. The Stoics believed that if you show benevolence, you can win favor even among bad and aggressive people, but if you create violence, even good people will turn their backs on you.
The early Christians, too, were mostly pacifists, but military service was not condemned by them. Later, with the organization of the world church and, especially after dividing it into the Orthodox and Catholic branches, only individual Christians showed pacifist sentiments, and this issue almost completely disappeared from theological philosophy. However, many constantly appearing branches of the official church defended pacifism, for example, it was the Cathars, Waldenses, some Franciscan movements, as well as the Hussites. Many prominent people of the past opposed military confrontations, including Leo Tolstoy.
