The New Conscientious Objection: From Sacred to Secular Resistance

Front Cover
Charles C. Moskos, John Whiteclay Chambers II
Oxford University Press, Apr 8, 1993 - Social Science - 296 pages
Although conscientious objection is a long-standing phenomenon, it has only recently become a major factor affecting armed forces and society. The only comprehensive, comparative scholarly study of conscientious objection to military service, this book examines the history of the practice in the Western world and state policies that have grown up in response to it. It shows how the contemporary refusal to bear arms is likely to be secular and widespread rather than religious and marginal, now including service people (as seen in the 1991 War in the Persian Gulf) as well as conscription resisters. No account of civil-military relations or peace movements in advanced industrial countries is complete without reference to conscientious objection, and this book will be the standard text on the subject.
 

Contents

The United States
21
Comparative Perspectives
65
The Secularization of Conscience Reconsidered
175
Australia
209
Bulgaria
212
Greece
215
Italy
218
The Netherlands
220
Notes
226
Select Bibliography
272
Contributors
278
Index
282
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information