There's an old saying that there are no atheists in foxholes. But as it turns out, there have always been people trying very hard to stay out of them.
One of the more fascinating chapters in religious and legal history involves a principle called the ministerial exemption and its role in avoiding military service.
It’s a story that goes back many years, though as a growing number of social media users are now pointing out – may be relevant again today.
Draft Rumors Spark Concern
Following the outbreak of war in Iran, speculation about a potential military draft in the U.S. has begun. These rumors have people thinking about what they would do if drafted… and ways to avoid that scenario altogether. Among the most-shared tips going viral: get ordained online.
We can’t comment on internet rumors. What we can say is that the conversation is drawing on a history that stretches back much further than most people realize.
What Is Ministerial Exemption?
The notion that religious leaders should be kept away from battlefields goes back centuries, if not further. Clergy across feudal Europe were generally exempt from military obligations in exchange for spiritual service, for example.
Over the centuries, ministers and clergy were often permitted to stay home and tend to their flock when countries went to war.
In the U.S. during World War I, Jehovah's Witnesses claimed ministerial exemption on the grounds that every adult male member of their faith was, by definition, a minister.
It was an early preview of the debates that would explode again fifty years later.
Vietnam, the Draft, and ULC Ordination
No era tested these questions quite like the Vietnam War. As hundreds of thousands of young men were drafted into a deeply unpopular conflict, protest movements proliferated – and so did creative attempts to avoid the draft. Among the most notable: ordination by mail.
The original Universal Life Church, founded in 1959 by Kirby Hensley, operated on a radical premise: that ordination should be available to all who seek it, freely, without theological gatekeeping. Ordination was available in person or by mail.
As Vietnam escalated, rumors spread that getting ordained could help keep you out of the conflict. Thousands sent letters and received ordination credentials in return. But the government remained skeptical, and many people were told their ordination was not sufficient for exemption.
Other Ways People Avoid the Draft
Ordination is just one method people have pursued. Here are some other reasons folks have used to seek draft exemption over the years:
1. Getting Married
President Lynden Johnson signed an executive order ending marriage-based exemptions on August 26, 1965, but not before thousands of couples scrambled to beat the midnight deadline.
2. Having a Baby
Previously, JFK had signed an executive order to exempt men with children – prompting millions of so-called "Kennedy fathers" to start families to avoid a future draft.
3. Citing Medical Conditions
Medical deferments were widely used – and widely abused. Both Donald Trump (bone spurs) and Joe Biden (asthma) avoided the draft through combinations of student and medical exemptions.
4. Littering
Folksinger Arlo Guthrie famously avoided the draft due to a conviction for littering that deemed him “morally unfit” for service. He later chronicled the story in the song “Alices’s Restaurant.”
5. Pretending to Be Gay
Decades after the war, actor Chevy Chase confessed that he avoided going to Vietnam by telling the draft board that he harbored homosexual tendencies. He added he was "not very proud" of having done that.
6. Becoming a Missionary
Missionaries were exempt from the draft. Mitt Romney received his deferment this way, spending two years in France as a Mormon missionary.
7. Just Staying in School... Forever
Before Congress reformed the draft in 1971, you could get a student deferment simply by being a full-time student and proving you were working towards a degree. Another incentive to work on that Ph.D!
Should You Become Ordained?
Clearly, there have been some creative solutions to avoid going to war over the years. As the world faces another uncertain conflict, it’s only natural that those ideas will start getting shared once more.
Ordination with the Universal Life Church may not be able to solve every problem in the your life – but it’s a pretty great way to start if we might say so ourselves!
23 comments
-
Elmira LeeAnnetta Francis-Arway
I served back in the 1970;s and 80's, Lebanon, and Beirut US Air Force, when America kind of meant something, and had a little common sense, even my father served Vietnam, my uncle Korean War, as did many of family members, my brother Grenada US Army. This was reminds me of old-time Germany, and why draft US (American) soldiers to fight for another country (Israel) that actually hates the ground all Americans walk on? I remember my grandmother was a true holocaust survior not these people trying to commit genocides, by any means possible. The rich use the poor and middle class like pawns on a chessboard, and it is appalling especially when they would never use their own children to fight their wars against humanity. I am sitting with popcorn in hand watching Babylon burn...
-
Leslie A. Hulberg Née Tomasura
In my opinion, when those who start a war serve in the fight, or their children serve on the front lines, then I suppose there is not a lot to be done to prevent serving. But when those people do not serve or do not send their own children to serve on the front line, then they should think twice about starting a war. Because that means, others are doing the fighting for them and they are only serving their own interests. They obviously do not care about anyone but themselves. Think about it. If you have a friend who talks tough and starts a fight, then walks away leaving you to fight the people (s)he took issue with, wouldn’t you look at that person and say, “Hey?” “Why am I fighting when you’re the one who started this thing?” “You started it, you end it.” Meanwhile I’ll sit back and watch.
-
Stephen B Pettway
On my 18th birthday I registered for the draft. Get a set! I didn't expect to reach 21! They didn't call and neither did I. For a while. Eventually I signed up. 30+ years of military service. Six combat deployments, two special ops missions and some stateside disaster relief missions. Retired from the military with 80% VA rating and a non critical MOS, 74 years old really don't expect to get recalled. But the government as the authority to do so. 99% of the hoopla about the draft is just more TDS from the Socialists. POTUS can not draft anyone. They can however recall prior military - being retired or having a DD-214 does not mean they can't call you back. Although it is rather unlikely (unless you have a skill set they need.) I would not count on a "Ministerial Exemption" especially if you are not part of an officially recognized religion. If they don't already have a Chaplain in whatever faith you profess, you have even less chance of exemption. If you are an American Citizen (or maybe Lawful Resident) you have and have been enjoying the privileges of what many patriotic Americans have died to secure for your benefit. If you don't approve of what is currently happening, then don't volunteer. I could not see how the Vietnam war had anything to do with the Constitution, Mom's Apple Pie, or the cute Girl Next door - so I didn't volunteer. Nothing wrong with that. But If my country needs me to help protect the freedoms we all enjoy (freedoms that millions have broken the law to come and enjoy) then they will surely tell me when and where to report. Freedoms and Privileges come with Rights & Responsibilities. Period. Sane folks don't expect to get everything for free. Sometimes you have to stop at the register and pay the bill for what you got. Protest if you want, write letters, send emails, post online. That is a Constitutionally recognized Civil Right. Note however that slander is a crime as is rioting. Interfering with Law Enforcement will have unpleasant consequences for you. Hope you have a nice day and that the Universe smiles upon you.
-
Joseph Walton Michael
Nervous parents, not “socialists,” raise the alarm about a new draft - they don’t know any better.
-
-
Rev Morse
I have two sons, one is mentally ill so he's exempt and the other one could be drafted. Then I have two daughters. One in college and one a manager at a store.
-
Rev. Roe
I proudly served my Country.Being ordained should not justify not serving in the military. Many would seek any reason not to serve. God Bless those who have answered the call in the past who have paved the way for freedom an d those that are now serving. GOD BLESS AMERICA
-
ServantOfJudgement
Right on!
-
-
Rev. Roe
I proudly served my country and retired from the USN. God bless America . It seems there are many that want the benefits of living thus far in a free country but are not willing to serve should they be called upon to do so. There were those in the past that used any excuse they could find not to serve. May God bless our Service men and women presently serving and those who lead the way keeping our country FREE AND SAFE.
-
Christopher Jones
i served, and it was in the army that i found god. i searched and searched for a church to worship in but i never found my religion. i don't believe personally that running from service is acceptable because a lot of children never find god until they find death. most chaplains come from war or at the very least service during peace.
-
Rev Ned
Fortunately for Barron T., he is physically deformed and cannot serve in the military. He’s too tall.
-
ServantOfJudgement
I always thought it'd be nice if war showed up by choice all the politician's kids went to the front line. 17-45 years old, no exemption. That'd keep crap real would it not?
-
-
Stefano Di Stefano
Dipende dalle scelte personali
-
Skye
This woman has her facts wrong, Being a minister does not exempt you from the draft, if you are a Conscientious objector based on moral or religious beliefs, and IF you qualify then you will not be put in combat roles.But you will still be drafted. Also this woman states that she is an ordained minister, and give you the idea that she can not be drafted, as of right now, a woman can not be drafted.
-
Patricia Ann Gross
Skye,
Expect that to change (women being drafted) if they reinstate the draft.
-
-
Dr. Zerpersande, NSC
My mother came from a line of Quakers and she took us to a Quaker church as kids. I was going to claim conscientious objector. No service at all, would not assist in any manner whatsoever. Wasn’t a matter of fear of dying, just objected to the war.
The draft was ending as I graduated high school. Saved me from relocating to Canada or Mexico.
-
Rev. Miche'al Yosef Dixon
The U.S. does not technically have a "draft", but the framework (Selective Service) exists and is the exact same thing, and reinstating "draft" as it use to be would require significant new legislation and a national crisis. All "male" (no females or gender neutral) U.S. citizens and legal immigrants, ages 18-25, must register (or will soon be registered automatically under new law; the old draft) for the Selective Service System (SSS). "draft" by a different name actually; it's called "Selective" Service because they allow you to select which service instead of telling you were your going. Females are all hell bent on equal rights as long as they don't equally get force to go died for some warmonger politicians. I've already served proudly and bleed so Haliburton can not even get the pipeline we killed and died for them to get. I signed up for fighting for freedom and boy was I hoodwinked. I'm still under oath on a Holy Bible to defend the citizens, Constitution and Office Of The President (not necessary the man behind the desk but what the Office represents). So, I'll defend those things I am sworn to protect. Personally I don't believe people should be allowed to vote unless they serve in the military. That's my personal opinion as a disabled Veteran of the United States Navy. The military have Clergy so being ordained only gives you a job code for the military. If the Navy would take me back I'd gladly serve as a Clergy this time.
-
Patricia Ann Gross
Rev. Miche'al,
Anyone who graduated high school in 1974 or before knows about a very real "draft," that was much more than just a framework. That's when I graduated and we were the first class that didn't have our graduates snatched up and sent to Vietnam.
I am sorry, but the only Constitutional requirement to vote for a federal level office, is to be a citizen. Some states will allow non-citizens to vote on matters of local interest, like school boards and civic matters, and deny voting to people convicted of felonies and it needs to stay that way. While I applaud your service to your country, not every citizen is able or eligible to serve in the military, and their votes matter too. Prior to the end of the Vietnam war, the only women allowed in the military were nurses and some for purely administrative duties.
-
ServantOfJudgement
Think of the 10s of millions of illegal alien men who are of fighting age....from where?......who hate us.....
Any red flags in the tummy?
-
Michael Hunt
What? How is this at all relevant to Patricia's comment?
-
Patricia Ann Gross
I'm sorry, but I don't follow. What do they have to do with anything associated with the US draft, which is for US Citizens (if that's not the case, please educate me)?
-
-
Joseph Walton Michael
1974 was THEN. BTW, I enlisted in 1972. Now there is only registration for the Selective Service. That amounts to a list of names should Congress pass legislation to begin the process of “inducting” or drafting young men 18 - 26 years old who have their name on that list. The infrastructure to do all that simply doesn’t exist. My best guess is it would be years before the first busload of scared kids showed up for training.
In the meantime several military installations that were once used to train soldiers are closed, including my Alma mater, Fort Ord, CA.
Many of the combat units that were once deployed to Germany in preparation for World War 3, are now stationed in the United States.
In short, there is no plan, no organization, no personnel to administer, insufficient training facilities, and not near enough trainers.
Your junior high school kids are most likely safe.
But, you say, there were extremely fast responses to what became the first two world wars! Yes, because the draft never was put in mothballs as has been now.
I am totally ok with this. If Congress had any integrity and upheld their oath to protect and defend the constitution, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
-
Patricia Ann Gross
Thank you. Good stuff to know.
-
-
-
I don't think we avoid war with religious access, war affects us all, we are in it together, I think the religion is how we survive it and religion and spiritual access grows as does the embrace of family and all natural order, war is how we distract the fighters to build inside our huddle, not fox hole a new commitment to our selves, through God(s), Families and Nature. During war religion and spiritual positions rise, Matriarchal and Family position get stronger and more important, love, birth and connection come out at the end...No one escapes war, we learn how important it is to survive together..to live again...trust the God, believe again, there is a master at work here...its not man...its a God with no gender, culture, color or creed...just the love of life to restore the beauty of living to the fullest.