In 1917, just as the United States was entering World War I, Bishop Paul Jones was forced to resign his episcopal office because of his support for Christian pacifism and the conscientious objection to war. Since that time the Episcopal Church has moved gradually towards its current position of affirming the integrity of conscience both of members who chose to participate in the armed forces in either combatant or non-combatant roles and of members who choose not to participate for reasons of conscience.
Indeed, in 1998, the acceptance of conscientious objection as a form of Christian witness among Episcopalians had become wide enough that Bishop Jones was, by act of General Convention, included in the official list of commemorations in the Book of Common Prayer. Acceptance of conscientious objection as a Christian option has also proceeded similarly at the level of the worldwide Anglican Communion acting through its Lambeth Conference of Bishops which meets once every ten years.
The legislative basis for these developments in the worldwide Anglican Communion was established by a resolution of the 1930 Lambeth Conference, which set forth the principle that “war as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible with the teachings of our lord Jesus Christ.” The resolution containing this statement was reaffirmed by the Lambeth conference of 1948, 1958, 1978, and 1988, and adopted by the triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1931 with several reaffirmations since.
As early as 1922, General Convention had anticipated this stance in a resolution, which, while expressing appreciation for those who had sacrificed by serving in the military during World War I, declared that the “high aims and purposes of Jesus Christ, made evident in Christian civilization, can only be ultimately attained in a warless world in which the second great commandment is revered and obeyed.”
The 1928 General convention declared even more forthrightly: “We assert our solemn judgment that aggressive warfare is a crime on the part of a nation and so to be held by followers of Christ, who has commanded that we make disciples, not enemies, of the peoples of the world.” This statement was affirmed in the 1928 General Convention.
The General Convention of 1934 took steps to facilitate these sentiments by forming a commission to petition the congress to permit conscientious objectors to claim noncombatant status in the armed forces and to initiate a register of persons wishing to claim such status if legislation permitting it were forthcoming.
The 1943 General Convention, even in the midst of World War II, took further steps by creating a commission “to assure the members of this Church, who ‘by reason of religious training and belief are conscientiously opposed to the participation in war’ of the continuing fellowship of the Church with them and care for them” and to “maintain, through the committee on Conscientious Objectors, an official relationship under provisions set up by the Selective Service Act.”
A comprehensive resolution regarding conscience and war was issued by General Convention in 1957. Its provisions included actions to urge congress to extend conscientious objector status beyond the religiously-based conscience to “those who would take the stand for other ethical and moral considerations, not necessarily associated with traditional religious commitment,” and urged that the Church provide counseling and legal advice to those conscientious objectors among its members.
The 1979 General Convention adopted the 1978 Lambeth resolution on war and violence and funded a joint commission on Peace for the Church. The Convention commended to the Church the use of non-violent means to achieve peace and justice. In 1988 the Convention summarized this position to which previous resolutions had been moving, affirming that “non-violent refusal to participate in or prepare for war is a faithful response of a member of this Church and that a decision to participate in or prepare for war should be made only after careful and prayerful consideration.” It also declared that persons making either decision under conscience have “the respect, the support and the ministry of the Church.” In addition to the official acts of legislative assemblies summarized above, the House of Bishops has issued many pastoral letters confirming these actions and elaborating on their scriptural and theological basis.
Today, the Episcopal Church continues to maintain that all decisions regarding participation or non-participation in war or the preparation for war be the fruit of mature and prayerful discernment informed by scripture, theology, and relevant knowledge of history and contemporary conditions. The Church, while affirming the discernment of those who choose military service or other participation, expresses unambiguous preference for non-violent approaches to conflict, condemning the aggressive use of war in national policy as contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
