Title
World War I and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific
Files
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Document Type
Encyclopedia Entry
Publication Date
2020
Encyclopedia Title
Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists
ISSN
2690-8514
Keywords
World War One, south Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, SDA church
Abstract
The First World War (1914-1918) radically affected New Zealand and Australian society, but its impact on the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the region was limited by its geographic remoteness from the theaters of conflict and the Church’s circumspection over participation in the war. While almost all other religious groups actively promoted the war and the enlistment of their young men, the denomination walked a largely successful but very fine line between loyalty to the government and opposition to a worldly war that conflicted with the Church’s global mission and vision. Church leaders managed ultimately successful negotiations with governments to ensure that military service requirements accommodated Adventist positions on non-combatancy and the Sabbath. As far as possible, the Church remained firmly fixed on its mission, which by global standards was relatively unaffected by the war or by government policies.
Disciplines
History of Religion | History of the Pacific Islands | Military History | Religion
ANZSRC / FoR Code
210303 Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History), 210311 New Zealand History, 210313 Pacific History (excl. New Zealand and Maori), 220401 Christian Studies (incl. Biblical Studies and Church History)
Reportable Items
B1
Field of Education
09 Society and Culture
Staff Classification
Permanent
Peer Review
Before publication
Avondale Research Centre
Scripture, Spirituality and Society Research Centre
Recommended Citation
Reynaud, D. (2020). World War I and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific. In D. Trim (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved from https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/
