Details
Join Friends for this a comprehensive, fast-paced, interactive workshop for all teens and young adults, of any gender, as well as all interested adults or mentors, of any age. Diversity of participants enriches discussion, and personal participation in war includes everyone, not just 18-year-old males.
The workshop covers Selective Service legislation, definitions of conscientious objection, activities to discern one’s beliefs and articulate them, and finally some strategies to defend them. By the end, participants will have a better understanding of conscientious objection, a deeper grounding about the source of their convictions, and a “CO letter” articulating their beliefs.
Many say we have no draft, but Selective Service registration is actually the first step for one, and that is very much active and growing. Last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress quietly changed Selective Service registration to an automatic, involuntary process. The change will take effect on December 18, 2026. Eligible males (assigned at birth) aged 18 to 25 will be automatically registered for the military draft pool using existing federal and state records, removing the need to register manually.
The Selective Service process has no place to indicate a conscientious objection claim and says it can only be done if a draft is re-instated and a person gets an induction notice. That’s too late, and this workshop addresses that gap.
How do we respond as Friends, and prepare the young people in our lives and communities?
COLLABORATION & FACILITATION:
This workshop is a collaboration between Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC), Durham (NC) Friends Meeting (DFM), and Quaker House (QH).
The facilitator, Curt Torell, Ph.D., serves on the Steering Circle of QREC and has been an active, long-time board member of Quaker House, a Friends witness for peace that serves members of the military who are questioning their role. Conscientious objection has been a cornerstone of the QH work. Curt has a background of draft counseling in the 70’s and then started “CO for Teens” work before 9/11. He revised the second edition of the CO for teens book published by Quaker House and continues to offer workshops in-person, hybrid, or online. Curt is a member of Chapel Hill Meeting in North Carolina.
RESOURCES
- On the Quaker House website:
- Conscientious Objection Resources
- GI Rights Hotline, Counseling Service, Peace Advocacy
- On the Stony Run Meeting (Baltimore YM) website:
- "Conscientious Objection & Registering (or Not) with the Selective Service System for a Draft" for anyone looking to learn more about conscientious objection.
- Step-by-step 1-page leaflet, "Registering with the Selective Service System as a Conscientious Objector to War," for ages 12-25, their supporting caregivers, and the communities.
- "A Growth Continuum for Discerning the Strength of a Youth Conscientious Objection Documentation File," for youth ages 12-25 and those who will assist in annually reviewing their physical documentation.
- A foldable zine, "A Little, Simple Coloring & Activity Book on Conscientious Objection for Young People & Caregivers," that "gently introduces the concept of conscientious objection to kids ages 5+."