Pacifism

thumb|upright=.8|Peace dove statue in [[Lomé, Togo, Africa. The dove and the olive branch are the most common symbols associated with peace.]] thumb|upright|Statue of Eirene (goddess)|Eirene, goddess of peace in ancient Greek religion, with the infant [[Plutus]] Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.

thumb|upright|A peace sign, which is widely associated with pacifism. right|upright=1.5|thumb|alt=Large outdoor gathering|World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, 2011

thumb|Lord Mahavira, the twenty-fourth tirthankara of Jainism, and "torch-bearer" of ahimsa

thumb|Mahatma Gandhi, often considered a founder of the modern nonviolence movement, spread the concept of [[ahimsa through his movements and writings, which then inspired other nonviolent activists.]]

thumb|The Defector, by Octav Băncilă, 1906 thumb|Deserteur (Дезертир), by Ilya Repin, 1917

alt=|thumb|It Shoots Further Than He Dreams. Antimilitarist cartoon by John F. Knott. First published in March 1918. Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especially between countries) should be settled without recourse to violence, Paul B. Miller defines anti-militarism as "ideology and activities...aimed at reducing the civil power of the military and ultimately, preventing international war".

cultural phenomenon that developed first in the United States and United Kingdom and spread throughout much of the Western world between the early 1960s and the early 1970s

slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology

anti-war slogan

social movement opposed to a nation's status of armed conflict

thumb|Broken rifle and [[Circle-A]]

theological and ethical position

phrase from the Sermon on the Mount in Christian doctrine

speech and short book by Smedley D. Butler

flower used as a symbol of peace

world event

Nunuku-whenua was a sixteenth-century Moriori chief who is known for being a pacifist.

annual event held in April