Got an interesting and informative response from John Hoyle on this subject: Vanderhoven7, Thank you for reading Ex-JW.com and contacting me. Yes, Jehovah's Witnesses have traditionally rejected employment as police, sheriff's deputies, highway patrol, prison guard, border patrol, government security personnel such as FBI, Secret Service body guards, etc. The reason for this policy is because in many countries, and even in the United States and Canada, police often act in military capacities (and vice versa in emergency situations). In the United States, the National Guard is basically the home based army, intended to protect their states and cities in case of riot, invasion, or special circumstances as ordered by the governor of each state. Since World War 2, National Guard units have been activated and merged into regular army and air force battalions for special services and combat. Because most, or all, of the occupations above require a loyalty oath to the city, county, state and/or federal government, that in itself is a cause for concern by and objected to by the Watchtower Society. If you have to wear a firearm or use a night-stick to do your job, some elder is going to object to your employment. It is true that in recent years, a few Jehovah's Witnesses have either taken jobs as prison guards, armored car guards, bank guards, or private security officers. That is because jobs have been scarce and those occupations continue to be growth industries. The Watchtower Society and local congregations have given them a waiver and allowed them to take those jobs as a "matter of conscience." However, no Jehovah's Witness can accept military assignments in any branch of the service - because it would violate Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector status and political neutrality rules of conduct. It is for those same reasons that they do not run for or accept political offices, campaign, or vote. The biggest problems for Jehovah's Witnesses has been application for and acceptance of certain government jobs that are considered gray areas. These might include court bailiffs, park rangers, search and rescue teams that report to local police or fire departments. The same issues apply to law enforcement support jobs such as coroner's assistants and criminal forensics technicians. You can see why being a Jehovah's Witness is not an easy thing - especially when it involves finding a job or deciding on a career path. If to keep your job means that you have to salute the flag, sign a loyalty oath, work with the military in some capacity, or serve in a public office - then you are probably going to get some flack eventually from more conservative elders and JW upper management such as Circuit Overseers and above. Let's take a very typical example: A Jehovah's Witness could, within his own conscience, work as a professional City Manager, City Planner, or run a city utility. But he could not run for mayor, city councilman, county supervisor or alderman. Why the difference? Even though many of these jobs are very similar, the first three would be considered non-political professional positions; the others would be political positions. Of course the Watchtower can not provide any biblical support for their reasoning. Matthew was a tax collector (a political assignment), Cornelius was a Roman centurion (soldier). Luke was a doctor. The Bible does not indicate that they resigned their positions when they converted. Joseph (Jacob's youngest son) served as a high ranking officer in pharaoh's court. Many prophets and leaders were soldiers, kings, army officers and scouts, and judges. Jehovah's Witnesses would lead you to believe that all early Christians did was preach the good news and proselytize the nations of the known world. They did some of that, but they were also farmers, tradesmen, craftsmen, and government employees. When Roman emperors needed to fight battles, there would be wide conscription of men and boys over 12 years old to be soldiers or support for the armies and navies. There is no record of wide persecution of Christians because of their occupations or because they refused to serve in the army, but rather for their belief that the emperor was not a god and they could not worship or bend a knee to a false god. It was their unique beliefs that brought on persecution. This subject used to draw a lot of commentary and instruction in Watchtower publications and public talks. In recent years the Watchtower leadership has been very quiet on these issues. This dates back a few decades when a firestorm of debate arose when the Governing Body gave conflicting guidelines to Malawian and Mexican JWs. The Malawians suffered much persecution and even deaths, while the Mexicans simply paid a bribe and suffered no repercussions. There is much documentation on these subjects. The real question for many Jehovah's Witnesses is what does their own conscience tell them to do? It's hard to know what to do when you try to make sense of the Watchtower's Pharisaic approach to everything. John Hoyle Editor, Ex-JW.com
