“ The two groups of registrants that obviously do fall within these exclusions from the exemption are those whose beliefs are not deeply held and those whose objection to war does not rest at all upon moral, ethical, or religious principle but instead rests solely upon considerations of policy, pragmatism, or expediency. ”

“ Most of the great religions of today and of the past have embodied the idea of a Supreme Being or a Supreme Reality-a God-who communicates to man in some way a consciousness of what is right and should be done, of what is wrong and therefore should be shunned. ”

“ We think this attempt to distinguish Seeger fails for the reason that it places undue emphasis on the registrant's interpretation of his own beliefs. The Court's statement in Seeger that a registrant's characterization of his own belief as 'religious' should carry great weight, 380 U.S., at 184, 85 S.Ct., at 863, does not imply that his declaration that his views are nonreligious should be treated similarly. When a registrant states that his objections to war are 'religious,' that information is highly relevant to the question of the function his beliefs have in his life. ”

“ If an individual deeply and sincerely holds beliefs that are purely ethical or moral in source and content but that nevertheless impose upon him a duty of conscience to refrain from participating in any war at any time, those beliefs certainly occupy in the life of that individual 'a place parallel to that filled by * * * God' in traditionally religious persons. ”

“ Because his beliefs function as a religion in his life, such an individual is as much entitled to a 'religious' conscientious objector exemption under § 6 (j) as is someone who derives his conscientious opposition to war from traditional religious convictions. ”

“ Id., at 184-185, 85 S.Ct., at 863-864. What is necessary under Seeger for a registrant's conscientious objection to all war to be 'religious' within the meaning of § 6 (j) is that this opposition to war stem from the registrant's moral, ethical, or religious beliefs about what is right and wrong and that these beliefs be held with the strength of traditional religious convictions. ”