What (who) is pacifist - definition
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![Vereshchagin]]'s painting ''[[The Apotheosis of War]]'' (1871) came to be admired as one of the earliest artistic expressions of pacifism](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/1871 Vereshchagin Apotheose des Krieges anagoria.JPG?width=200 "Vereshchagin]]'s painting ''[[The Apotheosis of War]]'' (1871) came to be admired as one of the earliest artistic expressions of pacifism")
![Remarque]]'s anti-war novel ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' was banned and burned by war-glorifying Nazis](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/1933-may-10-berlin-book-burning.JPG?width=200 "Remarque]]'s anti-war novel ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' was banned and burned by war-glorifying Nazis")
![[[Henry David Thoreau]], early proponent of anarcho-pacifism](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Benjamin D. Maxham - Henry David Thoreau - Restored - greyscale - straightened.jpg?width=200 "[[Henry David Thoreau]], early proponent of anarcho-pacifism")
![Blessed are the Peacemakers]]'' (1917) by [[George Bellows]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Blessed are the Peacemakers.gif?width=200 "Blessed are the Peacemakers]]'' (1917) by [[George Bellows]]")
![Penn's Treaty]] with the Lenape.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Edward Hicks - Penn's Treaty.jpeg?width=200 "Penn's Treaty]] with the Lenape.")
!["Peace". Caricature of [[Henry Richard]], a prominent advocate of pacifism in the mid-19th century](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Henry Richard, Vanity Fair, 1880-09-04.jpg?width=200 "\"Peace\". Caricature of [[Henry Richard]], a prominent advocate of pacifism in the mid-19th century")
![Protest against the deployment of [[Pershing II]] missiles in Europe, Bonn, West Germany, 1981](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Massale vredesdemonstratie in Bonn tegen de modernisering van kernwapens in West, Bestanddeelnr 253-8611.jpg?width=200 "Protest against the deployment of [[Pershing II]] missiles in Europe, Bonn, West Germany, 1981")
![Anti-war activist arrested in [[San Francisco]] during the March 2003 protests against the war in Iraq](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Pacifista Arresto.jpg?width=200 "Anti-war activist arrested in [[San Francisco]] during the March 2003 protests against the war in Iraq")
![A Peace poppy [[wreath]], made of Peace poppies, with a [[CND]] symbol inside at a British [[Remembrance Day]] event](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Peace Poppy Wreath.jpg?width=200 "A Peace poppy [[wreath]], made of Peace poppies, with a [[CND]] symbol inside at a British [[Remembrance Day]] event")
![Refugees from the Spanish Civil War at the [[War Resisters' International]] children's refuge in the French Pyrenees](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Prats-de-Mollo Children's Home.jpg?width=200 "Refugees from the Spanish Civil War at the [[War Resisters' International]] children's refuge in the French Pyrenees")
![''The Deserter'' (1916) by [[Boardman Robinson]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/The Deserter.jpg?width=200 "''The Deserter'' (1916) by [[Boardman Robinson]]")
![anti-Vietnam War protest]], 1967](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Vietnamdem.jpg?width=200 "anti-Vietnam War protest]], 1967")
![World Day of Prayer for Peace in [[Assisi]], 2011](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/World-Day-of-Prayer-for-Peace Assisi 2011.jpg?width=200 "World Day of Prayer for Peace in [[Assisi]], 2011")
![[[March of Peace]], which took place in Moscow in March 2014](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Марш за мир и свободу (15).jpg?width=200 "[[March of Peace]], which took place in Moscow in March 2014")
Wikipedia
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Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word pacifism was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ahimsa (to do no harm), which is a core philosophy in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While modern connotations are recent, having been explicated since the 19th century, ancient references abound.
In modern times, interest was revived by Leo Tolstoy. In his late works, particularly in The Kingdom of God Is Within You. Mahatma Gandhi propounded the practice of steadfast nonviolent opposition which he called "satyagraha", instrumental in its role in the Indian Independence Movement. Its effectiveness served as inspiration to Martin Luther King Jr., James Lawson, Mary and Charles Beard, James Bevel, Thich Nhat Hanh, and many others in the civil rights movement.
