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Foxhole Faith and Funk Religion: Anglo-American Perspectives from Two World Wars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Michael Snape
Michael Snape*
Affiliation:
School of History and Cultures, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT
*
M.F.Snape@bham.ac.uk
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Abstract

The role of combat as a religious stimulant was widely observed and debated during both World Wars. Through a consideration of American opinion in World War II, especially in the light of British opinion a generation earlier, this paper illustrates that, however similar expressions of combatants’ faith may have been across time and space, their perceived value was very much dictated by their wider religious context, and particularly by the existing assumptions and priorities of religious observers and pundits. This meant that, in the American context of World War II, appraisals tended to be much more positive than in the British context of World War I, adding considerable substance and longevity to the claim that ‘there are no atheists in foxholes’.

Keywords

US armyBritish armyWorld WarsReligionChaplains
Type
Original Article
Information
New Blackfriars , Volume 96 , Issue 1062 , March 2015 , pp. 223 - 238
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 The Dominican Council

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