Editorial: The Nuclear Arms Race and the Churches

Abstract

Outside Third World, number one issue in both domestic and foreign affairs is increasingly nuclear arms race. Last year proposed pastoral letter on war and peace of National Conference of Catholic Bishops ranked as top news story by religion news writers, Christian Century, and Reli gious News Service. Already in 1983, Time magazine has charac terized year as the year of missile. By all odds, nuclear arms race is major concern of Reagan adminis tration and, therefore, is given its highest priority over all other domestic and foreign policy matters. For main line churches, nuclear arms race has become a matter of particular importance and for many of them most crucial single issue in public affairs. The escalation and prolifer ation of nuclear arms race have had a sobering impact on churches, both Catholic and Protestant, even on those American churches that traditionally have not been known for their peace witness. The threat of nuclear war has brought churches to a new awareness of urgency for peace and imperative need for a peace witness on behalf of churches. Clearly nuclear age has given to churches a new dimension to war and peace and a new challenge of involvement in both national and international affairs.