The Role of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the emergent Right of Conscientious Objection to Military Service in International Law

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-206
Author(s):  
Judah B. Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Conscientious Objection ◽  
Jehovah’S Witnesses ◽  
Jehovah's Witnesses

scholarly journals Jehovah's Witnesses in the Modern World and Ukraine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuriy Kireyev ◽  
Konstantin Berezhko
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
The State ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Jehovah’S Witnesses ◽  
Jehovah's Witnesses ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Registration ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Time

This article highlights the history of Jehovah's Witnesses as a Christian religion in Ukraine from its occurrence on the territory of Ukraine in the early 20th century to the present day. The response of the Witnesses to the massive attempts of the Nazi and Soviet regimes to marginalize and suppress their religious manifestations is described separately. In particular, the biblical nature and confessional content of one of the fundamental teachings of the Witnesses – neutrality – is analyzed and explained. It includes the information about what it means and what it does not mean for believers. This makes it possible to better understand the current display of the neutrality of the denomination members when it comes to compliance with certain requirements of the local government. The growth statistics of the denomination members throughout history are given, which indicate the failed attempts of the totalitarian governments repressive system to eradicate the faith in the controlled territories. For the first time, information is published from the memoirs of Witnesses who tried to obtain state registration in 1949 when under the communist regime and the reaction of the government officials to believers’ attempts to be recognized by the state and society. There is a link between the recognition of the state through state registration and the increase of confessional activity, by which the Witnesses actually disprove the myths and labels produced and imposed on society by totalitarian regimes for decades. Emphasis is placed on the Witnesses’ current activities, which gives an idea of their attitude towards Ukrainian society and their role in strengthening and affirming Christian values among fellow citizens. Their publishing activity, evangelization work, religious and family values, public worship, educational programs, charitable and social work, attitude to representatives of other religions are analyzed. The view of health care is particularly examined. It describes the principles of a reasonable balance that Witnesses follow between the right to make informed treatment choices (including the refusal to use blood) and the attitude toward life and health as one of the highest human values. The significant contribution of Jehovah's Witnesses to the development of alternative nonblood treatments in world medicine is acknowledged. Therein are recorded the conclusions from numerous religious studies of Ukrainian and European institutions regarding the social and pedagogical value of materials published and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses through their periodicals and official online resources. The involvement of Jehovah's Witnesses in providing charitable assistance to civilians during the conflict in Donbas is highlighted. The activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in the context of their attitude to the culture, history, and traditions of the local people are considered. In particular, the part of the tourist program for fellow believers, who come from abroad to join in the ministry or assemblies, is to get familiar with Ukrainian monuments and the historical heritage. Witnesses publish and distribute Bible publications in 14 languages spoken by small indigenous communities in Ukraine. The social significance of biblical teaching, which is meant to meet the spiritual needs of Ukrainians with hearing and visual impairments as well as those who currently remain in places of correctional centers is outlined. For the first time, significant decisions of higher courts in Ukraine and other countries regarding Jehovah's Witnesses are considered. In recent years, the issues of military service and the right for alternative (non-military) service have been considered in higher domestic and foreign courts; denomination’s compliance with the requirements for the provision of state subsidies guaranteed to recognized religions; the right to build and use their places of worship, and proper assessment of religious hate crimes against Jehovah's Witnesses by law enforcement agencies. The decisions of the courts in the above-mentioned cases show that states consider Jehovah's Witnesses to be a recognized religion with the right to exercise freedom of conscience and religion.

Familial Antecedents and the Choice of a New Religious Movement: Which Person in Which Religious Group?

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 83-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sussan Namini ◽  
Sebastian Murken
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Jehovah’S Witnesses ◽  
New Members ◽  
Family Experiences ◽  
Jehovah's Witnesses ◽  
Order Position ◽  
Loss Of A Parent ◽  
Early Family

Based on the idea of a person-religion fit, this study deals with the role of early familial antecedents for choosing a new religious movement (NRM). New members of three NRMs in Germany (a Pentecostal parish, the New Apostolic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses; N = 71) were compared to each other in regard to the variables of loss of a parent, number of siblings, and birth order position. Statistical analysis revealed differences between the three groups regarding loss of a parent and trends for the number of siblings. The most striking finding was that 43 percent of the new New Apostolic members had lost their father (compared to 10 percent of the Pentecostals and 23 percent of Jehovah's Witnesses). Differences between the groups are discussed with a focus on the groups' specific structures and theologies. Overall, the idea of a person-religion fit proved to be useful for the study of biographical variables, although theoretical and empirical problems of the fit model still need to be solved. Further research on early family experiences and person-religion fit is encouraged. The need to investigate coping-related aspects is emphasized.

Case 1—1993 The role of erythropoietin in Jehovah's Witnesses requiring cardiac surgery

1993 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M. Neustein ◽  
David Bronheim ◽  
Jan Galla ◽  
Robert Litwak ◽  
Jacob Rand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Surgery ◽  
Jehovah’S Witnesses ◽  
Jehovah's Witnesses

Members of the Armed Forces and Human Rights Law

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

The national law of individual states is generally clear as to the criteria for defining which entities make up the armed forces, as well as who is entitled to be a member of the armed forces. Whether a state is bound by its human rights obligations while taking part in an international armed conflict outside its own territory, is a complex issue. This chapter examines the term ‘armed forces’, who are entitled to be called members of the armed forces, a state’s national law in relation to its international law obligations, and the role of human rights law from the standpoint of members of the armed forces and others who take an active part in an armed conflict. It also discusses the relationship between peacekeeping and human rights, the role of the United Nations, why members of the armed forces commit human rights violations, the human rights of soldiers, and the right to conscientious objection to military service.

International legal dimension of the right to conscientious objection: considerations with respect to the ECtHR judgment in Dyagilev v. Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-71
Author(s):  
Ruslan Kantur
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Conscientious Objection ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
Margin Of Appreciation ◽  
Domestic Jurisdiction ◽  
The Right ◽  
Minimum Criteria

The article delves into international legal aspects of the enjoyment of the right to conscientious objection. It is argued that the collision between the permissive norm of international law providing for sovereign discretion to introduce and enforce domestic rules on matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of states, including those relating to compulsory military service, and the mandatory norm of international law ensuring the right to conscientious objection. The jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights pivots upon the assumption that the right to conscientious objection is derived from the right to the freedom of thought, religion, and conscience and is covered by the international human rights treaties enshrining the latter (including Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms). It is revealed that the standard which has been found in ECtHR jurisprudence means that Article 9 defends the opposition to military service, where such opposition is motivated by a serious and insurmountable conflict between the obligation to serve in the army and a person’s conscience or his deeply and genuinely held religious or other beliefs, with states parties retaining a certain margin of appreciation and being able to establish assessment procedures to examine the seriousness of the individual’s beliefs and to prevent the abuse of the right. However, in Dyagilev v. Russia the Court did not take into account that the circumstances of the case point out the actual unlimited margin of appreciation in this area, which leads to the situation when the conscript had had to provide “evidence” that he was a pacifist (in the absence of legally outlined minimum criteria helping assess the substantiation), but not to substantiate the very request by the fact that he shared pacifist views. Consequently, such a broad margin of appreciation implies that the state abuses its sovereignty, for the procedure of the examination of requests runs counter to the purpose of the right to the freedom of conscience and, consequently, the right to the conscientious objection.

Studi Eksegetis Yohanes 1:1-18 Sebagai Apologetik Terhadap Kristologi Saksi Yehuwa

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Pangeran Manurung
Keyword(s):  
Striking Difference ◽  
Human Being ◽  
John 1 ◽  
Jehovah’S Witnesses ◽  
Jehovah's Witnesses ◽  
Jehovah's Witness ◽  
Search Results ◽  
The Bible ◽  
God The Father ◽  
The Difference

Eksegesa John 1 : 1-18 shows that the Jehovah's Witness teachings deviate from the truth of the Bible and dangerous for Christians . The danger Christology of Jehovah's Witnesses should be bringing us to the prudence and discretion to reject it . It can be said that Jehovah's Witnesses do not include Christianity in accordance with the search results against their teachings . first ; they do not recognize the Bible that has been issued by the Indonesian National Bible Institute and consider if the Bible has too much harm to use their own New Translation of the Holy Scriptures that have been proven not a translation , but just a collection of interpretations and teachings of their leader alone . second ; Jehovah's Witnesses do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior only . They simply believe that salvation is obtained through belief in Jehovah and his kingdom and perform service message and follow the trial associations .                Before errors interfere Christology Christology of Jehovah's Witnesses Bible , please note that the topic of Christology is the difference between Christianity and other religions . This discussion has also become one of the topics that face many attacks from the outside or from within Christianity , either in the form of religion , philosophy , and ideology . The debate on this topic appeared since the beginning of Christianity , and give rise to a long and complex debate for nearly three centuries ( 300 years ) !! . Such debates will continue to exist throughout the period and just a rehash issues that had once appeared . And Christians should study the various debates and views of the ever emerging that are not easily fooled by the views back to this era .Eksegesa John 1 : 1-18 has been done and produce a biblical Christology and biblical correct . The truth is not in doubt because of the analysis conducted in accordance with the procedures and rules that apply in general . Now if Christology Christology of John compared with Jehovah's Witnesses, it will show a striking difference . Once observed , Christology Witnesses builds upon the interpretation of individuals who previously have had a negative Christological doctrine .                Conclusion those who think that Jesus is the firstborn of Creation ; Jesus was a human being ; Jesus is God in creating a peer ; Jesus lower than God , Jesus is the Angel Gabriel , and other Christological doctrine which basically degrading nature of Christ is a form of insult to the majesty of Christ . The Bible clearly and emphatically teaches that Christ is God incarnate , private alpha and omega , the creator of all that exists , and the equivalent of God the Father . Summing Christ as superior human or clear eldest creation is false teachings . The followers of Jehovah's Witnesses must repent. Amen

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