>> Not every atheist/agnostic is outspoken nor do they all share the same beliefs
If you only consider the subset of security related/conscious programmers they're fairly outspoken and on these particular issues they're probably more orthodox than comparable religious constituencies are on organized violence for which there have been pacifist exemptions. I'm not familiar with the law regarding conscientious objection (it's late, now I have my tangent reading for tomorrow) but I'd presume the first amendment would require that a secular philosophical objection would have to be as equally valid as a religiously motivated one?
> a secular philosophical objection would have to be as equally valid as a religiously motivated one?
That's correct, which is why I mentioned "pacifist or religious arguments". Various types of pacifist arguments have been recognized in the past, of both religious and secular origins.
From the Selective Service[1]:
WHO QUALIFIES?
Beliefs which qualify a registrant for CO status may be religious in nature,
but don't have to be. Beliefs may be moral or ethical; however, a man’s reasons
for not wanting to participate in a war must not be based on politics, expediency,
or self-interest. In general, the man’s lifestyle prior to making his claim must
reflect his current claims.
While religious tests are generally banned, the government can scrutinize the veracity of a claim. I would be very difficult convince a judge that you legitimately believe something if you don't have at least some kind of verifiable history or you regularly engage in behavior that is contradictory with that belief.
It's worth pointing out that being a conscientious objector doesn't necessarily excuse you from having to work for the government; as mentioned in [1], there are "alternate services" available for people that object to the usual draft.
I have no idea how any of this would apply to objecting to creating mass security vulnerabilities. It almost certainly requires a test case and judicial ruling.
If you only consider the subset of security related/conscious programmers they're fairly outspoken and on these particular issues they're probably more orthodox than comparable religious constituencies are on organized violence for which there have been pacifist exemptions. I'm not familiar with the law regarding conscientious objection (it's late, now I have my tangent reading for tomorrow) but I'd presume the first amendment would require that a secular philosophical objection would have to be as equally valid as a religiously motivated one?