Kevin Burton, “Enemies, Aliens, Socialists, Spies: Surveillance of Seventh-day Adventism during WWI”

This presentation focuses on the (Federal) Bureau of Investigation’s ([F]BI) surveillance of the Seventh-day Adventist Church during World War I, when scores of Adventists, both lay and clergy, and many of their institutions, were regularly watched by government agents and their associates. The Bureau infiltrated local Adventist congregations, gathered witness reports from anti-Adventist neighbors and/or colleagues, detained Adventist immigrants at various entry points, and confiscated Adventist publications.
Adventists were also targeted by the federal government because of their numerous non-combatant members and their supposed religious fanaticism and enthusiasm. Not only does this information reveal valuable information about Seventh-day Adventist history, but it also “bears directly on important questions about state security, the separation of church and state, civil liberties . . . and the treatment of political dissent.”
Teacher:
Kevin M. Burton (Ph.D. Candidate, Florida State University) is the Director of the Center for Adventist Research and Assistant Professor in the Church History Department at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He concentrates his research on Millerite and Seventh-day Adventist history, with particular interest in the topics of race, gender, and politics. He has presented numerous academic papers at conferences and published several journal articles, academic book reviews, and encyclopedia entries. His Ph.D. dissertation explores Adventist political involvement in the anti-slavery movement. He lives in Berrien Springs, with his wife, Sarah; daughter, Adelia; son, John; and dog, Rouge.