In Praise Of Neutralism

The sound of marching feet in Europe has again reached American ears. But this time Europeans are marching for peace. The outbreak of peace is transforming European politics and causing increasing concern in the United States, a superpower now more comfortable with the arms race than with talk of peace.

Three years ago Europeans were virtually silent on the question of nuclear war. I remember being told by English friends, "It's an American issue, not ours. Anyway, there is nothing we could ever do about it here."

Now, as this issue of Sojourners reports, an increasingly popular movement against nuclear weapons is moving across Europe. Its leaders talk of a "nuclear-free zone" stretching from one end of Europe to the other and serving as a buffer zone between the two nuclear superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.

Many factors are involved in the dramatic shift in European public opinion. The complete lack of progress in U.S.-Soviet arms negotiations, matched with massive new military buildups by both sides, is key. The dangerous change in nuclear policy from deterrence to "first strike" technologies and doctrines adds greatly to European insecurity. And the statements of the Reagan administration in particular about fighting and winning "limited" nuclear wars have been frightening to people in Europe.

The U.S. decision, agreed to in 1979 by the NATO governments, to deploy the cruise and Pershing 2 medium-range missiles on European soil, was catalytic. That move was a significant escalation in the arms race, American justifications notwithstanding, and was perceived as such by many Europeans. The Europeans realized that the new missiles would increase their chances of becoming a nuclear target, and that so-called limited war might mean the destruction of Europe. One of the European Peace Movement's slogans reads, "Every nuclear missile is a nuclear target."

Finally, a factor often overlooked in the U.S. press but perhaps the most significant of all is the awakening of churches in Europe. In many countries the churches stand at the heart of the peace movement. As in the United States, many Christians are coming to realize that present nuclear policies are a sin against God, against humanity, and against the whole creation. On specifically theological grounds, the churches there and here are beginning to say "no" to nuclear weapons.

The church's leadership is clear in the Netherlands, where the European Peace Movement began. In "A Pastoral Letter to All Congregations" issued in November of 1980, the General Synod of the Netherlands Reformed Church stated:

This letter is written from the conviction that the present-day arms race is a test of our obedience to our faith. In the face of the ever increasing buildup and sophistication of nuclear destructive power in the world, the Church cannot remain silent...

We understand the present arms race as an expression of a far-reaching crisis in our culture in which there may be seen disobedience to God, failure to love our neighbors, an inclination to save ourselves at any price, and a reliance upon our own powers. We call upon each other with urgency to communal repentance before God and to the confession of our corporate sin....

Religious freedom and freedom of speech are among the essential achievements of our society for which we are thankful. We have no illusions about political systems from which we wish to remain free and which we fear. But as believers we can say: We can live with our Lord no matter what the political system may be. In no case does the defense of our freedoms justify basing our security on the possible destruction of everything dear to us and to our opponents and on an assault on the creation.

This profoundly theological response has had major political consequences. The pastoral letter was a new beginning for the Dutch churches and for a movement in Holland that has now spread throughout Europe.

The official American response to these events has been to accuse the European Peace Movement of being guilty of that most horrible of sins: neutralism. From the point of view of both Washington and Moscow, not to be in their camp is a great crime.

A significant shift in European public opinion has U.S. policy-makers very worried. What if the dread plague of neutralism were to infect Europe as it has the non-aligned nations of the Third World?

The charge of neutralism is accurate. From the perspective of a growing number of Europeans, the greatest threat to their security comes from the nuclear weapons themselves. The ideological competition between the United States and the Soviet Union threatens the whole world with nuclear holocaust. The enormous arsenals of both nuclear superpowers are the world's greatest problems.

It no longer makes sense to many Europeans to take sides. Nuclear war is more fearful than any other conceivable threat. Security is not enhanced by being under the nuclear umbrella of either superpower.

In such a situation, real security can be found only in the abolition of the weapons of mass destruction. The nuclear powers have been unwilling to take the necessary initiatives to reverse the arms race. If governments do not act, their citizens must; and in Europe, they are doing so in larger and larger numbers.

If this be neutralism, let us praise it. To refuse to take sides with superpowers who madly threaten the world with destruction is clearly the most sane thing to do. In a nuclear age, neutralism is the most responsible position to take. It should be the response of the church in every country. In obedience to the Word of God, we simply cannot be aligned with the nuclear policies of any government. The church itself must be a "nuclear-free zone," a neutral community in the midst of nuclear competition, seeking the peace and reconciliation we need to survive.

Some European peace activists are hoping for an eventual breakup of both the NATO alliance and the Warsaw Pact so that Europe might play a more independent role in seeking peace. Likewise, the churches in every nuclear country will need to declare their independence from, and non-cooperation with, their governments' nuclear policies.

A historic opportunity has now come for churches to reach across national boundaries, re-establish the bonds of the body of Christ, and join in a united effort for peace based upon our primary allegiance to the Word of God. The churches in Europe have begun to show the way.

Jim Wallis was editor-in-chief of Sojourners when this article appeared.