i dont know much about the jehovah's witnesses but was told thats the only religion that is not required to affilate themselfs wit any type of politics ? are these people excluded from siging up for the selective services? what do they beleive in then? really interested to know if any one knows plz reply but plz be serious about this thank u..
2006-07-24 13:46:05 · 12 answers · asked by blk_female_x 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Conscientious Objector status is hard to get. Males 18 + still have to register with selective service, and then go through other steps to be counted as a C. O. In other churches, including Seventh Day Adventists, all members used to always seek this status, but to be more amenable to the government the SDAs now leave it up to individuals. I'm not sure about the JW position on registering for selective service/ C.O. status or if they just refuse to register all together and then go to jail for it. From my understanding, C.O. status does not totally exclude you from having to serve the country if you are called -- but only helps you get in a position that doesn't involve actual killing, which is usually the objection. (in other words, you may have to do office work, or sew uniforms, or serve in some other way that supports the government's efforts, but not directly killing people).
2006-07-24 13:53:55 · answer #1 · answered by Heather L 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Selective Service registration is not itself military service. Jehovah's Witnesses follow those paperwork regulations.
Some countries do offer exclusion from compulsory military service to bonafide Jehovah's Witnesses, while others must work harder to "prove" the legitimacy of their "conscientious objector" status.
The main reasons are:
1. Witness conscientious objectors have established a near-perfect record of accepting prison rather than military service, in dozens of countries for decades; and
2. Witness congregations have established a near-perfect record for candidly reporting the truth about whether a young man or woman is actually a bonafide Jehovah's Witness minister, living a wholesome Witness lifestyle and performing regular Witness ministry, in dozens of countries for decades.
The United States currently has no special privileges granted to the Witnesses, but the USA has not had a 'draft' in decades.
2006-07-25 00:42:33 · answer #2 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
CO status is definitely tough to get, and you still might have to be involved with the military in some capacity. However, it may not be a task as mundane as filing papers or answering phones. Some people that were given CO status in WWII had to take part in medical study which focused on the effects of starvation. Basically people went without food for days/weeks at a time so the military could determine, for some reason, how long a soldier could remain effective without food. It wasn't combat, but I'm sure some people died as a result.
2006-07-24 20:59:59 · answer #3 · answered by j 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Jehovas witnesses were amongst those who refused to bow to the Nazis and many ended up in concentration camps. The Witnesses believe in personal Salvation through following their interpretation of the bible, I believe that they have a belief in the Second Coming and that Jesus will be invisible (in Spirit?). I may be wrong but I believe that the original founder of the church actually put a date on this event which has since come and gone and the dating has been revised by his succesor(s). Their beliefs are very much tied in with the bible and in beliefs about the symbology used in the book of Revelations, and how they relate to events in history from the fall of Rome to the rise of Britain and America.
I apologise if anything I have said is way off the mark or unrepresentative.
2006-07-24 20:57:46 · answer #4 · answered by Mick H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can become a conscientious objector based on your religious convictions, regardless of what religion it is. Its not just JWs. But you would still have to be a cook, nurse or do some other service that would aid the war effort. Former relatives of mine were conscientious objectors, being Mennonite, and were excluded from conscription, but they learned how to cook in a hurry!
2006-07-24 21:09:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, the have to sign up also... In the US Constitution there is a separation of church and state!
I just saw some of the other responses.... If they don't... Then what keeps everyone form claiming religious indifference.... That's a bunch of bullshit! I get shot at by camel jockeys and these fricken people bang on your door so early in the morning...
That really seems fair! Wow, I'm actually pissed off!
2006-07-24 20:51:41 · answer #6 · answered by and,or,nand,nor 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do not have to participate in the military but they do fill out draft cards solely because it would be against the law not to and they are taught to adhere also to man's law.
As for their other beliefs, they have many and strictly adhere to them, like not celebrating holidays or birthdays, not accepting blood transfusions, until 1976 they werent allowed to accept organ transplants and until maybe 4-5 years ago they werent allowed to own computers or surf the net.
2006-07-24 20:51:48 · answer #7 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think only Quakers or they actually call themselves the Society of Friends. The called conscientious objectors.
2006-07-24 20:52:07 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes thanx to Muhammad Ali
2006-07-24 20:49:19 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i wouldnt want to be excluded actualy. but then again i do not belong to any organized religious group.
2006-07-24 20:54:53 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋