Australian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–72

Many young Christian men faced a moral dilemma when selective military conscription was introduced in Australia during the Vietnam War from 1964–72. The legislation was the National Service Act in 1964 (NSA). Some believed that their Christian conscience did not allow them to kill or serve in the ar...

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Auteur principal:	Geoffrey A Sandy
Format:	article
Langue:	EN
Publié:	MDPI AG 2021
Sujets:	conscientious objection Christianity conscription nonviolence pacifism holy disobedience Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
Accès en ligne:	https://doaj.org/article/b89fd76fd9264736a42d2176a136a34f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b89fd76fd9264736a42d2176a136a34f2021-11-25T18:53:16ZAustralian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–7210.3390/rel121110042077-1444https://doaj.org/article/b89fd76fd9264736a42d2176a136a34f2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/1004https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1444Many young Christian men faced a moral dilemma when selective military conscription was introduced in Australia during the Vietnam War from 1964–72. The legislation was the National Service Act in 1964 (NSA). Some believed that their Christian conscience did not allow them to kill or serve in the army. Most of them sought exemption as a conscientious objector decided at a court hearing. Others chose non-compliance with the NSA. All exercised nonviolent Holy Disobedience in their individual opposition to war and conscription for it. Holy disobedience stresses the importance of nonviolent individual action, which was an idea of A.J. Muste, a great Christian pacifist. The research reported here is strongly influenced by his approach. It is believed to be the first study which explicitly considers Christian conscientious objectors. A data set was compiled of known Christian conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War years from authoritative sources. Analysis allowed identification of these men, the grounds on which their conscientious beliefs were based and formed and how they personally responded to their moral dilemma. Many of their personal stories are told in their own words. Their Holy Disobedience contributed to ending Australia’s participation in the Vietnam War and military conscription for it.Geoffrey A SandyMDPI AGarticleconscientious objectionChristianityconscriptionnonviolencepacifismholy disobedienceReligions. Mythology. RationalismBL1-2790ENReligions, Vol 12, Iss 1004, p 1004 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	conscientious objection Christianity conscription nonviolence pacifism holy disobedience Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
spellingShingle	conscientious objection Christianity conscription nonviolence pacifism holy disobedience Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 Geoffrey A Sandy Australian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–72
description	Many young Christian men faced a moral dilemma when selective military conscription was introduced in Australia during the Vietnam War from 1964–72. The legislation was the National Service Act in 1964 (NSA). Some believed that their Christian conscience did not allow them to kill or serve in the army. Most of them sought exemption as a conscientious objector decided at a court hearing. Others chose non-compliance with the NSA. All exercised nonviolent Holy Disobedience in their individual opposition to war and conscription for it. Holy disobedience stresses the importance of nonviolent individual action, which was an idea of A.J. Muste, a great Christian pacifist. The research reported here is strongly influenced by his approach. It is believed to be the first study which explicitly considers Christian conscientious objectors. A data set was compiled of known Christian conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War years from authoritative sources. Analysis allowed identification of these men, the grounds on which their conscientious beliefs were based and formed and how they personally responded to their moral dilemma. Many of their personal stories are told in their own words. Their Holy Disobedience contributed to ending Australia’s participation in the Vietnam War and military conscription for it.
format	article
author	Geoffrey A Sandy
author_facet	Geoffrey A Sandy
author_sort	Geoffrey A Sandy
title	Australian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–72
title_short	Australian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–72
title_full	Australian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–72
title_fullStr	Australian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–72
title_full_unstemmed	Australian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–72
title_sort	australian christian conscientious objectors during the vietnam war years 1964–72
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b89fd76fd9264736a42d2176a136a34f
work_keys_str_mv	AT geoffreyasandy australianchristianconscientiousobjectorsduringthevietnamwaryears196472
_version_	1718410614708109312

Australian Christian Conscientious Objectors during the Vietnam War Years 1964–72

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