conscientious objection
Moral military refusal
Conscientious objection is refusal to perform a duty—typically military service—on moral or religious grounds.
The objector claims that participating would violate deeply held principles: He filed for conscientious objector status when drafted.
The term extends to other contexts where someone declines to act because of ethical beliefs: a pharmacist's conscientious objection to dispensing certain medications.
- pacifismAntiwar moral stance
- peace movementCampaign advocating nonviolent resolution
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- civil disobediencePeaceful refusal to obey
- draft resistanceOpposition to mandatory military service
tribunal · draft board · alternative service · selective service · peace · principles · nonviolence · noncombatant · William Penn · antiwar · draft · conviction · exemption · morality · anti-militarism · ethics · religious belief · Jehovah's Witnesses
- peacepeace, peaceful, peacefully, peace sign, peace symbol
- moral sayingsdo unto others, golden rule, do the right thing, honesty is the best policy, treat others fairly
- resistanceresistance, defiance, resistance fighters, civil resistance, resist
- bioethicsbioethics, medical ethics, genetic engineering, beneficence, non-maleficence
- Draft Evasiondraft dodging, deferment, desertion, draft card burning, exemption
- nonviolencenonviolence, pacifism, harmlessness, nonviolent, peaceful
conscientious objectionvoluntary enlistment
Unpressured military signup
military service · joining up · enlisting · taking up arms · active duty
conscientious objectionmilitarism
Pro-force national policy
hawkishness · jingoism · warmongering · bellicosity · belligerence
objective, objection, conscience, objecting, objectivity, objected, objector, objections, conscientious