Conscientious objector is a person who claims that his beliefs prevent him from bearing arms in his country’s armed forces. A conscientious objector may be willing to serve in the military, but only as a noncombatant, such as a medical corpsman. Or he may claim that his principles do not allow him to take part in any effort associated with war. Of the major countries, the United States and the United Kingdom were the first to consistently accept conscientious objection in exempting people from military service or combat training.
The history of conscientious objection in the United States dates back to colonial times, when men had to serve in their colony’s militia. The first conscientious objectors in America were members of pacifist religious groups, such as the Quakers.
In 1661, Massachusetts became the first colony to exempt conscientious objectors from service in its militia. Congress passed the first federal draft law during the Civil War (1861-1865). This law recognized conscientious objectors, and they received special consideration in both the North and the South. To be classified as a conscientious objector, a man had to belong to a pacifist religious group. This requirement was also followed during World War I (1914-1918). Men classified as conscientious objectors were excused from combat, but were expected to perform some sort of military service.
The 1940 draft law required “religious training and belief,” but not necessarily membership in a pacifist religious group, for conscientious objection. The 1948 draft law defined religious belief as belief in a “Supreme Being.” But Congress removed the term “Supreme Being” in the 1967 law because the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the term to include vaguely religious philosophies. From 1967 to 1970, exemptions were granted chiefly to people whose “religious training and belief” led them to believe all war is wrong.
The religious requirement was strongly questioned during the 1960’s. Many men sought exemptions on the basis of their personal philosophy or their belief that the Vietnam War (1957-1975) was immoral. Major churches came to support selective objection—the refusal to serve in a particular war. In 1970, the Supreme Court exempted from military service “all those whose consciences, spurred by deeply held moral, ethical, or religious beliefs, would give them no rest or peace if they allowed themselves to become part of an instrument of war.” Many countries provide alternative forms of national service for objectors in an effort to reconcile the claims of national security and individual conscience.
See also Draft, Military; Pacifism.
