There are Atheists in Foxholes

...intriguing theological sensibilities, too.

Derek Keefe

Will Higgins's report on attendance levels at Holy Week services at a military base in northern Iraq is intriguing on several levels. First, although there are some 4,000 soldiers stationed at the base, the chaplains deemed 150 chairs and 3 Easter services more than sufficient to accommodate the number of soldiers inclined to attend. A Good Friday screening of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ drew only four soldiers, two of whom snoozed their way through it.

While such anecdotal evidence from a solitary military base is by no means enough to establish statistical significance, it does at the very least challenge conventional wisdom that there are no atheists in foxholes. Looking around for other media coverage of Easter services among American military in Iraq, I found little of interest save a small collection of photos that revealed services most notable for their sparse attendance (Be sure to click on the third photo to see if you can identify the gun at the foot of the praying soldier's feet). Sergeant Christopher McFadden of Indiana National Guard’s 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team finds the low attendance "dumbfounding." "If you saw the possibility of dying in front of you," he continues, "now would be the time to open the door and at least look inside."

Although I tend to share McFaddens' surprise, low attendance levels at Easter services is not the only aspect of the article I find intriguing. For one, the article points out that McFadden, an ardent Christian, carries around a metal-bound Bible printed during World War II for distribution to American soldiers, a Bible whose carrier in three previous tours of duty--in WWII, Vietnam, and Iraq--has returned home safely. McFadden had hoped this Bible and its 3-0 record would provide an entry point for evangelizing his comrades. Instead, he sincerely laments that for them this Bible is "more of an artifact, a good-luck charm, than a symbol of God's power." McFadden's comments raise interesting questions about the locus of God's power, and how we associate that power with particular material objects. Where does the power of Bibles--metal-bound or otherwise--reside? Is it in the "thing" itself and indifferent to the disposition of its carrier, or do its readers, hearers, and heed-ers know the power of God to save from death via receiving the Living Word that is not limited to any one particular copy of the Bible?

Second, the article contains a sidebar indicating that Franklin Delano Roosevelt included a foreword to the special-issue Bible "commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States." Operating in a cultural climate sensitive to questions of church and state, such words at first sounded odd to me--from another time with different sensibilities. But when I read the words of McFadden's pastor just a few lines down, I was reminded that these sensibilities are still with us. Apparently, just before McFadden departed on his tour of duty, his pastor told the congregation to think of McFadden as any other missionary, "except this one's paid for by the government."

Most intriguing of all, however, is the cryptic quote from "missionary" McFadden that closes the article. In an attempt to make sense of the war and his place in it, McFadden employs an oft-used interpretive lens in reflecting on the mysteries of divine providence: "We're in the desert for a reason. God has put us here to find ourselves." McFadden's quote shows us that for at least one soldier, making sense of the war is a "bottom-up" affair that begins with personal experience and plays out in the terrain of the heart rather than the combat zone of northern Iraq or the landscape of contemporary geopolitics.

Sgt. McFadden leaves me wondering which is more notable--the apparent lack of faith among the military, or the theological ruminations of one of the faithful.

Comments

It really isn't surprising that The Passion would not draw. That is a war zone. They see enough blood and death.

I've talked to many military veterans. None of them has told me that going to war strengthened their faith. Watching suffering a misery and senseless death all around you is not exactly something that inspires faith in a loving god.

I don't understand you problem with the statement, "We're in the desert for a reason. God has put us here to find ourselves" If God is indeed in control of all things, why can't he use something, even as evil as war, to shape the lives of His people? That doesn't mean the ONLY purpose of the war is "individual spiritual discovery." And I doubt that is McFadden's understanding of it.

I commend CT for recognizing that there are indeed atheists in foxholes. One chaplain even admitted that "foxholes can breed atheists, when those who see war's nightmares lose all faith in dreams - and fight fire with fire and dog eat dog are the only values that survive." Indeed, non-believers are more common in the military than in civilian life.

Atheists, agnostics and freethinkers have served with distinction in every U.S. military conflict from the Revolutionary War (see Ethan Allen and the Vermont Boys) to today. I am proud to be personally acquainted with two atheist veterans of World War II.

There are at least two organizations that recognize this reality and attempt to serve atheists in the military: maaf.info and atheistfoxholes.org.

Sgt. McFadden is now a personal hero.

It would be interesting to see what kind of reaction any ordinary Iraqi would have to McFadden's statement that God "put" Americans in Iraq to "find themselves". I wouldn't be surprised if they looked at him as if he was insane. And they'd be right.

If there was a God, we wouldn't need the foxholes

I served for 16 months in Iraq. In my company of about 170 men, I knew of about five or six atheists. Pretty much the rest of us were Christians. I'll tell you this: my experiences in Iraq greatly strengthened my faith in God. Some terrible things happened to me, but God has the amazing ability to use the bad in our lives for good. It's just one of those things that is hard to believe until it happens to you.

I have received several emails (can't remember who from now) asking for money to send Bibles to service personnel located in Iraq. The impression is that they are really in high demand. After reading this article I wonder if that is really true, or are we seeing an inflated sense of demand that is misrepresentative of reality? I think that the tendency of Christian groups is to inflate their successes to keep the faithful encouraged and to keep sending funds. I hope that I am wrong.

This really shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who has studied military history and post-war culture. Generally speaking, after most major conflicts there have been noticeable drops in church attendance and an increase in atheism and agnosticism. I myself started down the road that would eventually lead me to atheism while serving in the Marine Corps, and I'm the son of a non-denominational minister. Believe it or not, grunts are some of the most philosophically minded men you'll ever meet. There's a lot of time to think about the big questions and debate them with your brothers-in-arms when you're in a fighting-hole all night watching and waiting for the enemy.
God, Corps, and Country. Yeah, well. You come too see belief in god for what it is; ancient superstitious nonsense dreamed up by a relatively primitive people to try to make sense of the world they lived in. You develop a love-hate relationship with the Corps and you question a country that elects arrogant, foolish, incompetent chickenhawks not once, but twice, to lead it.
I'm grateful to be free from all of it, but I'll carry it with me for the rest of my life, like a really great scar. It gives you some good stories, but getting it wasn't much fun. And when I say this, I'm not just talking about the Corps. Being indoctrinated with religious beliefs that just won't hold water leaves it's mark too. So it goes. C'est la vie and Semper Fi.

I also commend CT for noting there are truly atheists in foxholes (actually, we only wished we had foxholes where I was), which perpetuates the notion that mortal danger brings all nonbelievers to Jesus. It's been my experience that mortal danger only tends to highlight the soldier's religious predisposition. If he believes in God, the trauma of his situation and the awful things he sees will more than likely strengthen his faith (as Adam Hughes said, above). However, if he has doubts, the overwhelming presence of violent chaos will more than likely push him to acknowledge his agnosticism or even embrace his atheism.

Incidentally...Sgt McFadden's pastor, while well-meaning, is mistaken. Even if Sgt McFadden works in the chaplain corps, he is not a "missionary." At best, he is there if his fellow Christians seek comfort and companionship; he is, however, largely precluded from witnessing to his fellows. Also, I'm sure the Army would take issue with the notion of a government-funded missionary.

Another of Christianity's disgrace from the cause of Christ! In any case, one lone vote for Christ out of several thousand is the rule not the exception in the Kingdom of God.

I do appreciate Christianity today for acknowledging that atheists are in the war, fighting. In my company, there is a mix of people from all different religions, there are the devout, the "sunday Christians" and the apathetic "I guess I'm a Christian." However, this really wasn't what any of us were concerned about, it was about working together, keeping each other safe. There was never a sense of hesitating helping someone out because they were a different faith or denomination. Yeah, I'm an atheist and I ran the company, but I never told people (unless someone specifically asked), and I made sure everyone had the services they needed, and I think that is what its about. However, I would like to highlight there are some big cases going on where an atheist (we are by far the minorities) has been denied promotions, threatened for courts-martial for meeting with other atheists etc. All I'm saying is lets make sure religion or lack thereof remains a personal option.

E7 Retired atheist. Spent 20 years in military and didn't have much need to tell them I didn't believe in god. Just loved to serve my country. Was kind of funny. They ask me what religion to put on my dog tags. Said I didn't have one. They said we need to put something. They suggested prodistant. I told them I didn't know what that was, so put it on them. That was in 1973. To this day they still say prodistant. Will never be anything but an Atheist.

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