Conscientious Objection

I am, by reason of religious training and belief, conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form.

This was the statement that applicants for Conscientious Objector (C.O.) status were asked to sign when there was an active draft in the United States. It came directly from Section 6(j) of the Military Selective Service Act which says in part "Nothing contained in this title shall be construed to require any person to be subject to combatant training and service in the armed forces of the United States who, by reason of religious training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form."

There is not an active draft in the U.S. today although there is still a Selective Service System and a law requiring young men to register for the draft, just in case the government decides to resume conscription. According to current plans, Selective Service must deliver the first inductees to the military within 193 days from the onset of a crisis.

Young men who are considering registration for the draft and are also thinking they might be conscientious objectors should know there are sources of information about the process outside the Selective Service System and that these sources have a different motivation, in particular they are not required to deliver inductees. The general advice to obtain C.O. status is to be prepared to demonstrate that the sentence at the top of this page is true for you. Various groups, some of which are listed below, are willing to help you with a C.O. claim. Almost any Quaker meeting should be able to help.

Breaking down the sentence into its parts

  • by reason of religious training and belief

    This means "training and religious belief" and if you have the belief, there must have been something in your training that led to the belief.

    For this law "religious belief" really comes down to what you believe. The US Supreme Court ruled that it can't require any particular religion and it can't require a mainstream religion. So, if you call it your religion, there is little the Selective Service can do to deny it is a religion. The test stated by the Supreme Court is that it hold the place in your life that a traditional religion holds in the life of someone with a traditional religion. Your draft board is allowed to reject your claim if they deem you not sincere.

    If you are a member of a well known traditional religion you can still make this claim even if some leaders of your religion have spoken in support of participation in war.

  • conscientiously opposed

    This means your opposition is based on your conscience, not, for instance, that you are opposed solely for financial reasons. You may have additional reasons but the law should not take them into account. It is your conscience and only you can accurately represent it. The only thing that can be questioned is your sincerety.

Thus two thirds of the statement hinge on your willingness to assert that your conscience and your beliefs are sufficient to make such a declaration. Unless you say otherwise the law cannot find fault in your statement. The last third is more likely to attract scrutiny.

  • participation in war in any form

    This means participation in any form of war. To be a C.O. is to object to participation in all wars, not merely the particular war that may be happening when the draft board is considering your case. The law doesn't care if you think this particular war is stupid or unjust or whatever personal, social or political objection you have. You may want to use the statement as an opportunity to attempt to explain why this war shouldn't be happening but the board is instructed not to recognize "particular war objectors" as C.O.s.

    Any form of war means any form for which a reasonable person can envisage the U.S. government conscripting inductees. One need not consider the war on cancer or other diseases or social problems, nor the wars imagined by science fiction writers. Also notice that it is not a question of objecting to war itself, it is only a question of your participation. The statement does not assert that you are a pacifist or a vegetarian. You may be, and these may attest to your sincerety, but they are not required.

    Participation means putting yourself under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and agreeing to obey orders. It does not refer to purchasing U.S. Savings bonds, paying U.S. taxes, or buying products from companies that participate in wars. Again, you may want to look at ways you can live in the Light that takes away the occasion for all wars, but the draft board should be thinking about your directly participating in the armed forces.

If I were facing registration today, I would write the statment above on the form, just above my signature. I would also make a copy of the and mail it to myself to show the date. The last time the draft boards were conscripting people they tended to not be sympathetic to claims made at the last minute. Having your claim on file shows them that you did not just think this up after they called you for induction. This is not the advice they give on their website but it is given by several of the organizations listed below.
I am, by reason of religious training and belief, conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form.
david at landowne.org