in all ages conscience has been the theme of priest, politician, philanthropist and obstructionist. so often used and so seldom analysed, beyond a bare assertion of its function, it is curious to reflect on the strange medley of uses to which this word is put.
conscience is at once the standard and the refuge of orthodox and fanatic, patriot and anarchist—according as they are described by admirer or detractor—but, let us believe with lecky,[4] least often of the genuine hypocrite.
never was a nation so beset with "conscientious" men and women as england is to-day; some helping, some hindering, some having little effect on the national welfare. some flaunt the badge obtrusively, they label themselves "conscientious objectors to military service," "conscientious objectors to vaccination," "conscientious teetotallers"; in some cases [pg 2]anti-vivisectionists,[5] social reformers and (formerly) suffragettes proclaim their exertions endured for "conscience' sake"; so, for the most part, do missionaries and religious functionaries, and, in fact, all and any who engage in propaganda or obstruction, "because," they say, "something higher than reason prompts our motives—'conscience'."[6] others refer to conscience shyly as of something too sacred to be spoken of publicly, and again others only in moments of intense earnestness—or alcoholic remorse.
a conscience, in fact, is an invaluable asset; where it does not gain approbation, it at least gains some measure of respect.
most people, then, admit the existence and the reality of what we popularly call "conscience," and although fewer people are agreed as to its origin and nature, it is, nevertheless, accorded a high place of importance and almost universal recognition as an arbiter in the affairs of men.
so undisputed is this claim to inviolability of conscience in twentieth-century england that the state, in framing her laws, modifies their application by the interspersion of caveats in the form of "conscience clauses."
the principle on which the conscience proviso is allowed to negative the universal [pg 3]applicability of the state's demand for service or compliance with her rules appears, however, to be somewhat arbitrary and uncertain, and can hardly be said to be devised solely in deference to any possible religious sanction, since, although a man's conscience is allowed to exempt him from vaccinating his children, the plea of religious sanction, in the case of a man professing the polygamous doctrine of brigham young,[7] would not exempt him from amenability to the law concerning bigamy; or, again, the conscience of a quaker or of a christadelphian[8] is recognized as a stronger qualification for exemption from combatant service than the equally recalcitrant consciences of, e.g. an atheist or a member of the church of england. yet the standardization of "privileged" denominational consciences is strongly disavowed! in spite, however, of a certain illogical inconsistency in practice, it is virtually conceded as a right that a man should justify any conduct by the plea of "conscience," even, in many cases, when it militates directly against the good of the state.
even more than the state and public opinion does the protestant church insist upon the authority and inviolability of "conscience." driven, step by step, from the time of the reformation, by the encroachments of science and the[pg 4] progress of rationalism, from her defence of the infallibility of doctrine and scripture, the protestant church has sought to render her position impregnable by increased insistence upon the inviolability and sanctity of revelation and conscience. lecky, speaking of the trend of "protestant rationalism," says: "its central conception is the elevation of conscience into a position of supreme authority as the religious organ, a verifying faculty discriminating between truth and error."[9]
the most recent stalwarts of the church of england are equally insistent upon this point, thus the rev. g. l. richardson writes: "we shall appeal to and invigorate the conscience in proportion as we rely upon the holy spirit as the one source of spiritual power.... 'the fellowship of the holy ghost' and his grace through the church is the master word of the twentieth century."[10] this passage well illustrates the supreme importance, with regard to her position, which the church attaches to the appeal to conscience at the present day. in another passage the same author says, "the authority of conscience is ... paramount for the individual." dr. j. n. figgis in his "churches in the modern state" says that any doctrine which would "destroy the springs of spiritual life in the individual conscience would be disastrous to civic as well as to religious life."
[pg 5]
having raised the individual conscience to a pinnacle of ethical omniscience, the ecclesiastic next proceeds to bring it into line with, or rather into synchronous subordination to, the aggregate "church conscience." "the church is a divine society, her members will feel an obligation to be loyal to her discipline.... the conscience of her members will respond with approval or shame when they keep, or neglect to keep, her standards." from this the resulting "code and sentiment" is the "church conscience."[11]
mr. g. k. chesterton throws further light on this interrelationship. "the 'church conscience' is rather to be conceived as a fortress to which the individual may return for shelter and strength when the attacks of temptation threaten to overwhelm him. at such times it is well to feel that we are not dependent on the 'inner light' of conscience alone, but that we can throw ourselves on a social force mightier than our own, and behold with astonishment and enthusiasm a divine company and a divine captain."[12]
whilst church and state are in agreement regarding its importance and sanctity, the same unanimity is not exhibited in dealing with the origin and character of conscience. equally divided in this respect are the philosophers and psychologists.
priests are fond of telling us that conscience is "the voice of god within us." to some men[pg 6] it appears strange that the voice of the same god should frequently induce men to oppose each other with such particular bitterness. this objection is sometimes met by the explanation that although it is the voice of god speaking through the medium of our souls, we fail to recognize or interpret rightly its significance. this explanation, again, is not altogether satisfactory, since, if that were the case, the voice of god must be so uncertain a guide it were better not to rely on it.
when we look back through the pages of history and consider the actions of men and the motives to which they ascribe them, and see what an orgy of blood, of persecutions, of burnings, of torturings, of blind passions and religious frenzy, of diabolical imaginings and monstrous eschatology has been conceived at the instigation of conscience and religion, and prescribed in the name of god, we are inclined to inquire more deeply into the meaning and credentials of this watchword of all ages.
