Conscientious objection is a situation when a person objects to serving in the military or warfare because of deeply held philosophic or religious beliefs against war. Certain pacifist groups, such as the Quakers, oppose all war, and their members refuse to serve in the army. In some countries (such as the United States of America), such conscientious objection to military service is respected, and the government allows this as an exemption to compulsory (draft) army participation. Most nations do not respect the individual’s moral conscience in this way and either compel military duty or punish (with prison or death) such conscientious objections to war. The issue is one of obeying a “higher law” than the state and of whether a society regards it as legitimate.

In the United States, the exemption to military service on conscientious objection grounds must involve a deeply held ethical or theological objection to all war or violence, not simply opposition to a particular war or government policy. This became a major public issue during the 1960s and 1970s when many recruits did not want to serve in the Vietnam War but were not against all war. If a person believes in war to defend one’s country but does not wish to serve in a specific war policy, conscientious objection exemption is not allowed.

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