THE PACIFIST L-10V&"!ENT IN THE HETHODIST CHURCH DURING WORLD WAR II: A STUDY OF CIVILIP...!.'l PUBLIC SERVICE :OlEN IN A NONPACIFIST CHURCH bv.J. E. Keith Ewing A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Humanities in Partial Fulfillment of the R~quirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida May 1982 THE PACIFIST MOVEMENT IN THE METHODIST CHURCH DURING WORLD WAR II: A STUDY OF CIVILIAN PUBLIC SERVICE MEN IN A NO~~AC!F!ST CWJRCE by E. Keith Ewing This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candi­ date's thesis advisor, Dr. John O'Sullivan, Department of History, and has been approved by the members of his supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of the College of Humanities and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Cha1rman, Depar nt of « .... -· y ar- History !>e;Aat~ nea~eg~ft::ties Studies Date/ ' _.1..1.i .: .: ACKNOHLEDGHENT The appreciation of the writer is expressed to the supervisory committee: Dr. John O'Sullivan, Dr. Heather Frazer, anc Dr. Donald Curl. Each cf these persons has ~ ~~-~ ~~~--~-~~ euabled the w~ite~ to bscc~e '""" ..... ......,.-c. "'"'J"' .. "!:'c '-~.L.L"""' historia~. A special acknowledgment is rendered Dr. O'Sullivar. for many hours of ~,hurried consult~tion in encouraging the writer to perfect the thesis in a logical, scholarly style. iv ABSTRACT Author: E. Keith Ewing Title: The Pacifist Movement in The Methodist Church During World War II: A Study of Civilian Public Service Men in a Non­ pacifist Church - ..... ..Lns-c~t:u-c~cn: Florida Atlantic University Degree: Master of Arts Year: 1982 The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 provided that the conscientious objector could do "work of na- tional importance under civilian direction." The arrange- ment worked out between the government and the·National Service Board for Religious Objectors was the Civilian Public Service camps. The Methodist Church had the largest number of Civilian Public Service men of any non- pacifist church. Methodists strongly emphasized pacifism and the evils of war in the 1930s, especially among the youth. This thesis examines a number of the Methodist men who chose Civilian Public Service instead of either combatant or noncorobata~t military se~:icG. The concerns itself with the church's influence upon them, their relationship to the church while in Civilian Public Service, and the effect of this experience on their rela- tionship to th~ church following their service. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT •.•. v LIST OF TABLES . vii ,1... __ ._ __ '-110. ~ \...CL. I. INTRODUCTION • • . l II. THE MIXED RESPONSE OF THE r-1ETHODIST CHURCH TO WORLD WAR II . 18 III. INTERVIEWS ~~ QUESTIONF-~IRES ANALYZED • • • . • • • • 43 Introduction The Influence of the Methodist Church The Methodist Church Support of C.P.S. Men Specific Ministries of the Methodist Church to C.P.S. Men The Effect of C.P.S. on Attitudes Toward the Church Reaction to 1944 General Conference Mutual Fellowship Experienced By Methodists in C.P.S. Attitudes Toward Historic Peace Churches Evaluation of the C.P.S. Experience CONCLUSION • 135 APPENDIX 148 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 151 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Respondents Who Indicated They Still Ass~~e an Active Role in Church Leadership . ..,0'7 , vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Methodist Church from the time of its begin- ning as a fervent, evangelical movement within the Church of England in the eighteenth century under the guidance of ~~at methodical and committed Anglican priest, John Wesley, to its present day American counterpart, the United Methodist Church, has expressed its faith more in practical applications than in doctrinal pronouncements. Wesley's evangelicalism led to a vision of the world as his parish and the improvemenc of life in the midst of moral decay as his mission. Wesley and his disciples, although earnestly concerned for theological scholarship, disciplined them­ selves to take the love of God into the slums, prisons, mines, and homes of England, and in so doing, laid a foundation that to this day is a cherished heritage of the people called Met..hodist: a vital piety that expresses itself by evaluating social issues, i.e., alcohol, gambling, prisons, family life, international relations, by the standards of the Christian faith. One writer notes that Wesley's sermons denounced slavery as the "worst of all villainies," and the sale of 1 2 alcoholic beverage as sending "men to hell like sheep." He writes tb.at Wesley termed war a ::reproach to a.L.L reason and humanity", and the fighting of war as a forgetting of God .... By the second half of the eighteenth century the !·1ethodist movE:l-nent made its way to A...-nerica by t.'l.e influ- ence of English Methodists who came to the New World. The first missionary preachers, Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor, were sent by Wesley in 1769. By this time, there were Methodist groups in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, . 2 New Jersey, De 1 aware and V~rg~n~a. In 1771, Francis Asbury, "the British preacher who made the greatest impact upon early A..rnerican Methodism," arrived. By 1772, Wesley had placed him in charge of the . h . Am • 3 Me tho d ~st preac ers ~n er~ca. Asbury insisted that the preachers itinerate and ride the circuit, preaching wher- ever settlements sprang up. As they preached and organized, they spread "scriptual holiness" {the combining of the piety and social concern) in the new land. As the Methodist circuit rider became a part of the frontier lifei the Methodist movement exhibited this concern for social holi- ness. In late December, 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was formally organized in Baltimore, Maryland, and immediately evidenced its flexibility and creativity by ministering to the expanding American frontier rather than remaining in the coastal com.-nuni ties. lvhile it is readily ------.! --~ .&..t...-.&.. .a...L--- --- - _ ...... -1-.-- _;: ,c ___ ..__ -.C -t... ..... --'L.. J.;;;;•_:•_•';;!.!.".:'~U t....llO.t.... C....!lC:.1..'-== O.J..t:: C. .LlUJ.lUJt::.!.. VJ.. .J...Q.\,C:l.,..;:) V.!.. \,.,.llUJ...\,...11 struct·u.re and life that contribute to Het.~odism • s unique- ness, the on~ that is the concern of this study is the commitment to bringing the influence of the Christian faith upon social policy and public issues such as the Christian response to war. Georgia Harkness, ordained Methodist minister and theology professor, who taught, prior to her death, at Methodism's Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Illinois, coiD.ments that Methodists have always been under "the im- pulse to take the imperatives of the gospel into the whole structure of human society" even when they have not been in agreement about what the gospel was saying at a par­ 4 ticular time on a particular issue. By 1907, five Methodist ministers had organized ~~e unofficial Methodist Federation for Social Service to engage the church in disturbing questions about the Christian faith and issues facing the developing industrial- ized! urban society. The Methodist Episcopal Church adopted a Social Creed in 1908, that stated social princi- pals by which the Christian and the church, as well as the society, should order their lives. With this action, 11 Methodism forthrightly ernbarked upon a career of social r: witness from which it never retreated."-' ...II The Social Creed, which could and would be adapted changi~g ,....1"""\n,.:;;.J.-.;",....~ n,, ~,,,..,...oo~il""''f"'f ~onor.::a1 (""'1""\1""'1- to social --··-----··- -.l --------··::;, --··---- --·· ferences, 6 was adopted by both the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the ~1etl10dist Protestant Church wit..~in a few years. 7 This creed became the basic statement of the Federal (later National) Council of Churches of Christ in ~-~erica as their Social Creed of the Churches. 8 Keep in mind that this engagement of Christian faith, with the issues of the culture in which the church existed, was not approved by all Methodists. William Warren Sweet notes that some Methodists became the recipi- ents of the creed's judgments because of their businesses and/or personal beliefs. There were those who withdrew. The course was determined, however, and "at every General Conference since that time other courageous declarations and appeals have been issued."9 As t..he 1930s drew to a close, the ominous sounds of war were abroad in Europe, threatening to involve the United States. The Methodist Church, true to its practice of responding to critical social issues in the light of the Christian faith, would make policy statements through its General Conferences in regards to the individual Christian's response, as well as the church's response, to war. These statements directly influence our study and will be dis- cussed in detail. 5 r'lo1uiT'IfT n.ooniv int-I"\ Before ---·-·-:~ ---&;-..! ----- the core of this study; however, it is necessary to review the Methodist Church 1 s action, or lack of action, on ~~e issue of war and peace in the early years of the 1900s. A widespread feeling ~~ong Methodists was expressed in ~~e California Christian Advocate, ~~e publication of California Methodism, of Septeinber 22, 1917: "It is a little difficult to under- stand the mental operations of certain persons who pride 1n themselves as being conscientious objectors to war."~v One observer commented that in the Methodist Church during 11 World War I, "Pacifism was as suspect as treason." Two incidents during World War I substantiate the general feeling of support for the war in the }!ethodist Episcopal Church. The Reverend E. P. Ryland, superintend- ent of the Los Angeles district of the Methodist Episcopal Church, refused to participate in a series designed to promote patriotic support of the United States' participa- tion in the War.