THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS’ MILITARY SERVICE PECULIARITIES

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to reveal the peculiarities of the Seventh-day Adventist military service under the condition of the historical context analysis (the religious confession/denomination emergence, formation, and development) with emphasis on the situation in independent Ukraine. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of historicism, systematicity, scientificity, verification, the authorʼs objectivity, as well as on the application of the general scientific: analysis, synthesis, generalization methods. The scientific novelty is that for the first time, on the basis of the foreign sources and the Ukrainian lists of the legislative and regulatory acts on military duty and military service, the Seventh-day Adventist military service was comprehensively considered in the United States of America, during World War I and World War II, in the Soviet and modern Ukraine. The Conclusions. The study highlights the main stages of discourse between the state’s need for self-protection and the religious beliefs of the Adventists. It has been revealed that during World War I and World War II there were compromises on the principle of non-participation in hostilities, carrying weapons, and breaking the Fourth Commandment (Keep the Sabbath day holy). It has been revealed that the US Adventists were able to establish cooperation with the armed forces and create a special program, which was called the “Medical Training for the Servicemen”, which is relevant today. The military service and military duty issues in the Ukrainian context have been considered. It has been found out that the church members in Ukraine, who refused to carry weapons, had an opportunity to choose an alternative (non-military) service instead of the conscript military service. However, in a state of martial law or a state of emergency, certain restrictions may be imposed on citizens’ right to take alternative (non-military) service, indicating the duration of these restrictions.