Daniel Andrew ("Dan") Seeger is a retired administrator of Friends' (Quaker) organizations and a writer on Friends' religion and social issues. He was earlier a defendant in a case on

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

pacifists Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigne ...

that was decided by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Seeger had come from a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

background, been heavily influenced by

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

ideas, and volunteered with the

American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (''Quaker'') founded organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by Am ...

(AFSC). In 1958, he was denied conscientious-objector status under the 1948 military draft law, on grounds that his religious beliefs did not constitute "belief in a Supreme Being"; he was eventually ordered to enter the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, and convicted of draft refusal. In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled in ''

United States v. Seeger ''United States v. Seeger'', 380 U.S. 163 (1965), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that the exemption from the military draft for conscientious objectors could be reserved not only for those professing conformity with the ...

'' that his conviction was mistaken, because Congress, in its statutory language, "did not intend" using "the usual understanding" of "Supreme Being", but rather an interpretation that extended to Seeger's "compulsion" to "goodness". Seeger made a career in the administration of the AFSC. In the 1980s and 90s he wrote four pamphlets for publication by the Quaker Universalist Fellowship, and twoQuaker Universalist Fellowship pamphlets
/ref> by the Quaker study-center publisher

Pendle Hill Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the Pe ...

. He retired in September 2000 from the role of executive director of Pendle Hill. On April 1, 2010, Seeger stepped into the role of Interim General Secretary at the AFSC, pending the conclusion of the search for a permanent General Secretary, following the resignation of Mary Ellen McNish on March 31.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeger, Daniel American conscientious objectors American Christian pacifists American non-fiction writers Converts to Quakerism 20th-century Quakers 21st-century Quakers Living people American Quakers Year of birth missing (living people)

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