Iraq War Protests Entail Church Involvement, Pastor Arrest

Authorities arrested five protesters in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday as part of a contingent of 200 pastors, church members and citizens who gathered to protest the Iraq war.

The Hartford Courant reported that the arrested protesters were blocking an entrance to a federal building. Department of Homeland Security officers issued them three warnings to clear the path before taking them into custody for disorderly conduct and trespassing.

The Rev. Kathleen McTigue, senior minister at the Unitarian Society in New Haven, Conn., was among the arrested citizens.

"It is a way of putting our bodies in the way of business as usual and business as usual is killing people," she said as Thursday, March 20, marks the fifth anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Iraq.

All five of the arrested citizens were released after posting bond.

The group Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice, a Connecticut-based group of Christians opposing violence and torture, organized the protest.

The Dallas Morning News reported that 50 people gathered in downtown Dallas to protest the war in an event co-organized by clergy, the Dallas Peace Center and other antiwar groups. Other notable protests have occurred across the nation in places such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Syracuse, N.Y.

When it comes to the Iraq war, American churches seem to have varying opinions cast along a broad spectrum.

Church Solutions reported in February that many evangelical pastors still show a cautious support for U.S. military action in Iraq.