Community of Christ in Canada endorses interfaith statement supporting the nuclear weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty

​By John Hamer, Director of Outreach and Innovative Mission

This week Community of Christ in Canada joined with other jurisdictions of the church, including the British Islands and European mission centres in signing the “Joint Interfaith Statement on the Occasion of the 11th Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference.”

The NPT entered into force on March 5, 1970, with the goals of (1) slowing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and (2) reducing existing stockpiles of these weapons.  By signing the treaty, the nuclear-weapons powers at the time, the United States, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, France, and China, agreed to enter into talks to reduce their existing weapons stores with the eventual goal of nuclear disarmament. Meanwhile, states without nuclear weapons (like Canada) who signed the treaty agreed not to develop nuclear weapons of their own. (As a note of clarification, while restricting nuclear weapons, the NPT affirms the right of all signatories to develop nuclear power for peaceful, civilian energy purposes, if they so choose.)

While the world has lived under the threat of a potential nuclear holocaust since nuclear weapons were first developed in the 1940s and 1950s, the NPT has achieved some successes.  Since their first use against Imperial Japan at the end of World War II, nuclear weapons have never again been used in warfare. And, for a time, the US and Russia did enter into agreements that limited their own nuclear weapons stockpiles. While nuclear weapons have proliferated, the number of new nations to develop them has so far been limited to India, Pakistan, North Korea, and (likely) Israel. 

Unfortunately, the passing of the last generation to have witnessed the use of nuclear weapons on civilian populations in time of war, and the current threats to the Rules-based global order, have made recommitment to the NPT more urgent than ever.  Retired Apostle Andrew Bolton, the church’s former Peace Officer, brought the Interfaith Statement to the attention of our Field Apostles, Lachlan Mackay and Shannon McAdam, who forwarded it to the Canadian Leadership Team with a recommendation of their support for its consideration.  After deliberation, the Canadian Leadership Team approved the recommendation and empowered Sam Smalldon to sign the petition as Mission Centre President of Record.

We feel that this action aligns with our values as a church.  In recent years, we have been discerning and exploring our identity as a peace church. Our historic seal’s one-word motto is “Peace,” and the pursuit of peace is both a Mission Initiative and an Enduring Principle of our church. In addition, Community of Christ has an ecumenical and interfaith outlook, understanding that although relatively small in size, we can achieve important goals by working with like-minded faith organizations. 

The Onward Together plan calls on “Community of Christ in Canada to express who we are by embodying the identity, mission, message, and beliefs of Community of Christ in and for the unique Canadian context.”  We believe that as a Community of Christ in Canada, we can affirm our commitment to being peacemakers by working with other faith communities ready to make similar commitments.

Read the statement here