Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows Sarah Davies explaining her family’s Quaker history and how this has influenced her own beliefs. The first segment shows her talking about members of her family. Historic film of Second World War bombers and soldiers marching accompanies her recollections of the life of her conscientious objector grandfather. The narrator then gives an account of Davies’s life, illustrated with photographs of her work and travels for the World Council of Churches.

Educational value points

• An issue raised by the clip is how one acquires a religion. For Davies, as for many people, it was a ‘natural process’ to follow the religion already followed within her family. The religion of the family or the society into which a person is born will exert a powerful influence even if, unlike Davies, the person chooses to reject it. In Davies’s case, her values and even her choice of career have been influenced by her being a Quaker.

• As a conscientious objector, Davies’s grandfather faced social alienation and accusations of cowardice, although the legal situation for conscientious objectors – who for deeply held personal or religious reasons refuse to bear arms – allowed for three types of exemption. These were unconditional, conditional on the undertaking to perform specified civil work, and exemption only from combatant duties.

• Pacifism has always been a central tenet of the Religious Society of Friends, whose members are known as Quakers. The movement’s founder George Fox (1625–91) proclaimed that powers from God exist in each person and that therefore all life is sacred. Quakers believe that taking up arms against another person is a violation of the God within. Quakers have opposed wars and preparations for wars throughout their history and have been imprisoned for refusing military service.

• The work that Davies performs with the World Council of Churches (WCC) can be seen as fulfilling the ideals of Quaker pacifism. Quaker pacifism is more than a refusal to fight. It includes actively working to bring about or preserve peace. One of the goals of the WCC is to encourage and support initiatives aimed at overcoming violence.

• The work of the WCC includes engaging in international peacebuilding and disarmament, and this arose out of an ecumenical movement of Christian Protestantism. The WCC was established as an organisation by church leaders in 1948. Its peacebuilding program seeks to help churches, societies and the international community manage and resolve conflicts through non-violent action.

• The white feather given to Davies’s grandfather was a symbol of cowardice in countries associated with the British Empire from the 18th century. During the First World War the Order of the White Feather was founded, which encouraged women to give white feathers to young men who had not joined the British Army. This practice spread to Australia and was designed to shame men who were not fighting for their country into joining the services.