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Constitutional Law Keyed to Chemerinsky
United States v. Seeger
Citation:
380 U.S. 163 (1965)Facts
Daniel Seeger and two other men claimed exemption from military service as conscientious objectors under the Universal Military Training and Service Act. Each expressed profound moral and ethical beliefs against participation in war but did not profess traditional belief in a Supreme Being as required by the Act’s definition of “religious training and belief.” Seeger described his belief as a “religious faith in a purely ethical creed” and stated he held a “belief in and devotion to goodness and virtue for their own sakes.” The Selective Service denied their exemptions because their beliefs were not based on a relationship with a Supreme Being. Seeger was convicted for refusing induction, while the cases of the other two respondents followed similar paths through different courts, all eventually reaching the Supreme Court on the question of whether their beliefs qualified as “religious” under the Act.
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