*2.3. Research Method*

A data set of known Australian conscientious objectors was prepared (Sandy 2021). It summarizes personal details for each man on the list. It records his conscientious beliefs, how they were formed, and how he acted upon them. The data set consists of two major subsets, CODC and CNC. Those who self-identified as a Christian form a further sub-set for the each of the two major sub-sets.

An official DLNS list of the names of CODC has not been located. Langford (1997) suggests a number of 1242 for CODC, of which about 66% were granted full exemption, and 17% exemption from combatant duties. The data set of known COCD number 426, which represents 34.29% of 1242. Christian CODC number 122, which is 28.63% of 426. This is a good-size sample as a basis for making sound generalizations. Information is more difficult to locate for the CNC. If a total of 1000 is assumed, then the data set contains 283 names which represent 28.29%. Known Christian non-compliers total 17, which is 6% of 283.

The data set was prepared from a number of authoritative sources. The most important source was The Peacemaker newspaper of the Federal Pacifist Council of Australia. The Canberra Times newspaper was also important. These were supplemented by other records including the National Archives of Australia, National Library of Australia, State Libraries, Cabinet Papers, Private Papers, Proceedings of the Australian Parliament, Australian Security Intelligence Organization files, the media, and personal interview. The transcripts of court hearings have largely been destroyed.

The issues of The Peacemaker span vol.1, no.1 from September 1930 to vol. 33, nos. 9–12 ending September/December 1971. A full set is available from the National Library of Australia or the State Library of Victoria. The value of this research is that many conscientious objectors are identified together with their personal stories, and often a summary of the court hearing interchanges is provided.

An analysis of the data set was conducted in accordance with the research purposes and questions within the specified scope. The findings and their significance are discussed in the next major section.

The research approach is strongly influenced by the writings of the Christian pacifist Abraham Johannes Muste, especially his pamphlet titled *Of Holy Disobedience.* He was born in Holland in 1885 and came to the United States in 1901, the year that the Commonwealth of Australia was created. He was ordained in the Reformed Church in 1909. During 1918, he resigned under pressure because of a refusal to keep silent or abandon his Christian pacifist convictions (Peacemaker 1967c, p. 1). His emphasis was on the individual Christian. In another of his pamphlets, (Muste 1942, p. 24) he stated, "If gods peaceable Kingdom is ever to come to earth it must, as Isaac Pennington wrote in 1661, 'have a beginning before it can grow and be perfected'. And where should it begin but in some particulars (individuals) in a nation and so spread by degrees".

Muste talks of non-conformity as Holy Disobedience. This is "not to substitute Resistance for Reconciliation. It is to practice both Reconciliation and Resistance ... it is of crucial importance that we should understand that for the individual to put himself in Holy Disobedience against the war making and conscripting state, wherever it or he be located, is not an act of despair or defeatism. Rather I think we may say that precisely this individual to go along is now the beginning and the core of any realistic and practical movement against war and for a more peaceful and brotherly world" (Muste 1966, pp. 350–57). He died 11 February 1967 when peace and brotherly love was absent from Vietnam.

#### *2.4. Research Importance*

No known previous research explicitly focusses on Christian conscientious objectors during the Vietnam period. Many were included in the pioneering work of Oliver (Oliver 2014). This research builds on her work with an explicit focus on Christians. Four Australian works which proved useful for this research were (Langford 1997; Hamel-Green 1989; Jordens 1989; Forward and Reece 1968). Langford, in particular, provides a detailed description of how the NSA operated with meticulous use of dates and statistics. Tollefson (1993) discusses conscientious objection and the Vietnam War as it related to the United States. Most conscientious objectors were Christians because religious pacifism was the only permitted ground for registration as a conscientious objector at this time. Another useful American work is by (Fox 1982).

This research is important, not only to Australian religious history, but also to Australian history generally. There exists an imbalance in Australian history, with research and publications about war and conflict dwarfing that of peace and non-violence (Lake et al. 2010; Stocking 2010). An examination of a select bibliography of the Vietnam War in 1991 attests to this (Grey and Doyle 1991). Much has been published since. This research is a modest attempt to correct this imbalance.

There is a growing international literature on conscientious objection during previous conflicts, especially WWI. Important for Australia is the excellent work of Oliver (1997). She discusses the period of 1911 to 1945. Many of the personal stories and experiences are for Christian men, and the parents from the boy soldier period. Kramer has documented many of the stories from WWI and WWII for the United Kingdom (Kramer 2013a, 2013b). Also, Burnham (2014) has documented stories from WWI for the UK. These and other authors document a past where conscientious objectors were often accused of cowardice and shirking. They were ostracized and vilified. Some lost their job. Some were maltreated. Some were jailed. Some were forcibly handed over to the army and sent to the front. A classic case was the brutal treatment of Archibald Baxter and other conscientious objectors in New Zealand which has been told by Archibald himself and Grant (Baxter 2021; Grant 2008). The conscientious beliefs of many of these men were grounded in their Christian faith. Baxter was a Christian socialist. By the time of Vietnam the negative attitudes and poor treatment towards conscientious objectors had moderated in Australia. Nevertheless conscientious objectors still faced a difficult and often hostile environment as illustrated by some of the personal stories to come. This research adds to this growing literature.

The Vietnam War was as divisive to Australian society as the 1916 and 1917 conscription plebiscites (Forward and Reece 1968, pp. 30–45). The plebiscites were the first attempts to conscript for military service outside of Australia. They failed and historians even today remain at a loss to explain why (Archer et al. 2016). This divisiveness remains to the present time, although it has somewhat abated. It was the first "television" war of a brutal guerilla conflict where millions were killed and maimed (Hastings 2018, p. 639). The Christian young men who acted on their conscience, together with non-Christian conscientious objectors, were important in turning Australian opinion against the Vietnam War and conscription for it (Hall 2020; Department of Veteran Affairs 2020). They should be remembered and celebrated as part of Australian history, including its religious history, as are the militarists. For many in contemporary Australian society, the Vietnam War was never just and the legislation that introduced selective conscription was an unjust law.

#### **3. Findings and their Significance**

An analysis of the data set (Sandy 2021) of known conscientious objectors who selfidentified as Christian was undertaken. As much as possible the words of these men are heard unedited. A discussion of the major findings and their significance is now provided.
