Pursuing Peace in Godzone ― Christianity and the Peace Tradtion in New Zealand

This is a book about how New Zealanders have been inspired by visions for peace. Focusing on diverse Christian communities, it explores some of the ways that peace has influenced their practices, lifestyles and politics from the Second World War to the present—the period in which New Zealand’s peaceable image and reputation as ‘God’s Own Country’ grew and flourished. New Zealand Christians and others have worked for peace in many different ways, from attention-grabbing protests against nuclear weapons, apartheid and war, to quieter but no less important efforts to improve relationships within their churches, communities and the natural environment. Taken together their stories reveal a multifaceted but deeply influential thread of Christian peacemaking within New Zealand culture. These stories are by turns challenging and inspiring, poignant and amusing, and they continue to reverberate today in a world where peace remains elusive for many.

Philip Fountain is a Senior Lecturer in the Religious Studies Programme, Victoria University of Wellington. He was formerly a Senior Research Fellow in the Religion and Globalization Research Cluster at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He received his doctorate in Anthropology from the Australian National University. He has published extensively on religion and development, disaster relief, NGOs, and the transnational service and peacemaking work carried out by North American Mennonites. Geoffrey Troughton is a Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. His research focuses on religion in New Zealand, the history of Christianity, and contemporary religious change. Major publications include New Zealand Jesus (2011) and various edited books – most recently, Sacred Histories in Secular New Zealand (2016), with Stuart Lange, and Saints and Stirrers: Christianity, Conflict and Peacemaking in New Zealand, 1814–1945 (2017).