How a Group of Catholic Pacifists Took on the Nuclear State

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BY ERIC C. MILLER
SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

Over the past four decades, a small group of Catholic activists has worked to symbolically disarm nuclear weapons. These activists have made headlines—and, in many cases, served prison sentences.

Plowshares activism was launched in 1980 by Daniel and Philip Berrigan, the duo of brother-priests previously known for their opposition to the Vietnam War. A select group of radical clergy and dedicated laypeople, the Plowshares have challenged the national security apparatus wielding little more than wire-cutters, hammers, prayers, and bottles of their own blood.

In Plowshares: Protest, Performance, and Religious Identity in the Nuclear Age, Kristen Tobey examines the methods of Plowshares activists, and she dives into their devout, dramatic, and often perplexing work.

Tobey is Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at John Carroll University. RD’s Eric C. Miller spoke with her about her project.

http://religiondispatches.org/how-a-group-of-catholic-pacifists-took-on-the-nuclear-state/



Plowshares: Protest, Performance, and Religious Identity in the Nuclear Age
Kristen Tobey
Penn State University Press, July 2016