A matter of conscience: Quakers and conscription

​Military influence and conscription 100 years on

Compulsory military service outside the UK

Militarism is unfortunately not a thing of the past, nor for many countries is compulsory military service. Israel, South Korea, and Turkey, among others, are all still imprisoning young men and women who refuse to be conscripted.

The creep of militarisation

There is also increasing militarisation of our schools in the United Kingdom. The Government continually increases military spending every year. In 1913 Quakers questioned military training in schools and we continue to challenge this militarism today. In 2014 the British Government introduced £95 million of new military programmes for young people.

In 1914 no one under the age of 18 could be enlisted into the regular army. Now 100 years later, around 7,000 16 and 17-year-olds are in the armed forces. Most of these young people will have entered into a contract which commits them for a period of four years from the age of 18.

Peace Tax Campaign

Today, when not faced with compulsory military service, many still feel they ought to express their conscientious objection to military action by demanding that the portion of their taxes being spent on defence be directed instead towards spending on peacebuilding initiatives. Ruth Cadbury, a Quaker and Labour MP, is working with Conscience to bring this matter to Parliament this year in a Taxes for Peace Bill. Read more about this campaign on Conscience's website (offsite link).