There are no atheists in foxholes: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Claim that |
{{Short description|Claim that high stress situations prompt everyone to believe in god}} |
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The statement "'''There are no atheists in foxholes'''" is an [[aphorism]] used to argue that in times of extreme [[Psychological stress|stress]] or [[fear]], such as during [[war]], people will believe in, or hope for, a [[Deity|higher power]]. The logic of the argument is also used to argue for the opposite. |
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"'''There are no atheists in foxholes'''" is an [[aphorism]] used to suggest that times of extreme [[Psychological stress|stress]] or [[fear]] can prompt belief in a [[Deity|higher power]].<ref name=washpost-2007>{{cite news |title = No Atheists in Fox Holes |last = Reese |first = Thomas J. |author-link = Thomas J. Reese |url = http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/thomas_j_reese/2007/05/no_atheist_in_fox_holes.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090608151246/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/thomas_j_reese/2007/05/no_atheist_in_fox_holes.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = June 8, 2009 |publisher = Washington Post Company |date = May 31, 2007 }}</ref> In the context of actual [[warfare]], such a sudden change in belief has been called a '''[[Defensive fighting position|foxhole]] conversion'''. |
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==Origin== |
==Origin== |
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The statement |
The statement's origin is uncertain.<ref name=linglist>{{cite web |url=http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0609D&L=ads-l&P=15696 |title=Discussion on Linguist List |accessdate=27 June 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617035633/http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0609D&L=ads-l&P=15696 |archive-date=17 June 2008}}</ref> The U.S. military chaplain [[William Thomas Cummings]] may have coined the phrase during a field sermon during the [[Battle of Bataan]] in 1942,<ref>"I Saw the Fall of the Philippines", Carlos Peña Romulo</ref> though scholars have been unable to find a firsthand witness to the sermon.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crosby |first=Donald F. |title=''Battlefield Chaplains: Catholic Priests in World War II'' |year=1994}} Page 26</ref><ref>Page 2 of [[Fulton Sheen]]'s Wartime Prayerbook</ref> Other sources credit [[Lieutenant Colonel]] Warren J. Clear (or the anonymous sergeant he spoke with there), who was also at Bataan and published the usage in 1942;<ref>"The Heroic Defense of the Philippines", reprinted in Reader's Digest, July 1942</ref> or Lieutenant Colonel [[William Casey]]. The phrase is often attributed to war correspondent [[Ernie Pyle]];<ref>{{cite news |title=Oops! He Did It Again! Brokaw Repeats Canard, "There Are No Atheists In Foxholes" During NBC Evening News |date=2003-03-12 |publisher=[[American Atheists]] |url =http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/atheist9.htm |work =Flashline |accessdate = 2008-11-27}}</ref><ref>Johnson, Chip. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/06/BAGFOHIUKD1.DTL sfgate.com]; "GI turns to Islam to find God." San Francisco Chronicle. Monday, March 6, 2006. Accessed Nov-22-2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/books/features/weblog/031117.html|title=Faith, Hope, and Charity in North Carolina |accessdate=27 June 2017}}</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=kg4xAQAAIAAJ Down in the drink: true stories of the Goldfish Club]'', Ralph Barker 1955</ref> however, no such source published prior to Pyle's death is known. It was also quoted by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] in remarks broadcast from the White House as part of a February 7, 1954, American Legion Program. With slightly different wording, the statement appears much earlier in press reports dating from the end of the [[World War I|First World War]], while a similar concept has been sought in [[Plato]]'s ''[[Laws (dialogue)|Laws]]'', and in [[Karl Marx]]'s uote that "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the [[opium of the people]]".<ref name=linglist /><ref>{{cite journal|last1=McKinnon|first1=Andrew M.|year=2005|title=Reading 'Opium of the People': Expression, Protest and the Dialectics of Religion|journal=Critical Sociology|volume=31|issue=1–2|pages=15–38|doi=10.1163/1569163053084360|hdl=2164/3074|s2cid=143119316|hdl-access=free}}</ref> |
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==Usage== |
==Usage== |
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The quote has also been used in non-military contexts. In September 2008, in the depths of the [[financial crisis of 2007–2010]], both [[Ben Bernanke]] and [[Paul Krugman]] popularized a version of the quote in reference to financial crises. They paraphrased Harvard professor [[Jeffrey Frankel]], who originally wrote in the ''Cato Journal'' a year earlier, "They say 'there are no atheists in foxholes.' Perhaps, then, there are also no [[Libertarianism in the United States|libertarians]] in crises."<ref>{{Cite journal |last = Frankel |first = Jeffrey |author-link = Jeffrey Frankel |title = Responding to Crises |journal = Cato Journal |volume = 27 |issue = 2 |publisher = Cato Institute |date = Spring–Summer 2007 |url = http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/jfrankel/CatoRespCrisesJun07+fn15&2.pdf |accessdate = 2009-12-17}}</ref> The sentence is also quoted in the [[Gustav Hasford]]'s novel ''[[The Short-Timers]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} |
The quote has also been used in non-military contexts. In September 2008, in the depths of the [[financial crisis of 2007–2010]], both [[Ben Bernanke]] and [[Paul Krugman]] popularized a version of the quote in reference to financial crises. They paraphrased Harvard professor [[Jeffrey Frankel]], who originally wrote in the ''Cato Journal'' a year earlier, "They say 'there are no atheists in foxholes.' Perhaps, then, there are also no [[Libertarianism in the United States|libertarians]] in crises."<ref>{{Cite journal |last = Frankel |first = Jeffrey |author-link = Jeffrey Frankel |title = Responding to Crises |journal = Cato Journal |volume = 27 |issue = 2 |publisher = Cato Institute |date = Spring–Summer 2007 |url = http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/jfrankel/CatoRespCrisesJun07+fn15&2.pdf |accessdate = 2009-12-17}}</ref> The sentence is also quoted in the [[Gustav Hasford]]'s novel ''[[The Short-Timers]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} |
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==Inaccuracy== |
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Several atheist organizations object to the |
Several atheist organizations object to the claim. The [[Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers]] has adopted the catchphrase "Atheists in Foxholes" to emphasize that the original statement is [[cliché]] rather than fact.<ref>{{cite web|title=Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers|url=http://militaryatheists.org/atheists-in-foxholes/|accessdate=27 June 2017}}</ref> The religious convictions of current US military personnel are similar to those of the general American population, though studies suggest that members of the military are slightly less religious.<ref>21% of US military atheist or non-religious, Source: "America's Military Population". by David R. Segal and Mady Wech Segal. Population Reference Bureau, 2004. [http://www.prb.org/Source/ACF1396.pdf?page=27 page 25] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727185232/http://www.prb.org/Source/ACF1396.pdf?page=27|date=2011-07-27}}.</ref> Department of Defense (DoD) demographics show that "Atheist" is selected as a religious preference (0.55% or less than 1 percent of the total DoD force) more than non-Christian options such as Agnostic (0.12%), Hindu (0.07%), Buddhist (0.38%), Muslim (0.24%), and Jewish (0.33%).<ref>[http://militaryatheists.org/demographics/ militaryatheists.org], Military Religious Demographics Survey</ref> Author [[James Morrow]] said: "That maxim, 'There are no atheists in foxholes,' it's not an argument against atheism — it's an argument against foxholes."<ref>{{Cite web|last=December 2001|first=Faith L. Justice Issue: 3|date=2001-12-03|title=Interview: James Morrow|url=http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/interview-james-morrow/|access-date=2021-10-16|website=Strange Horizons|language=en}}</ref> In 2015, describing the phrase as a "tired, old, untrue cliché", the [[Freedom From Religion Foundation]] erected a monument to "Atheists in Foxholes", commemorating American atheist, agnostic, freethinking, and skeptical US armed services veterans.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Seering|first=Lauryn|title=FFRF unveils ‘Atheists in Foxholes’ monument at new headquarters - Freedom From Religion Foundation|url=https://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/24221-ffrf-unveils-atheists-in-foxholes-monument-at-new-headquarters|access-date=2021-10-16|website=ffrf.org|language=en-gb}}</ref> |
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[[Joe Simpson (mountaineer)|Joe Simpson]], author of ''[[Touching the Void (book)|Touching the Void]]'', addresses the issue in the film adaptation of his nearly fatal climb up the [[Siula Grande]] mountain. Referring to the moment when he lay at the bottom of a deep crevasse, dehydrated, alone, and with a broken leg, he states: |
[[Joe Simpson (mountaineer)|Joe Simpson]], author of ''[[Touching the Void (book)|Touching the Void]]'', addresses the issue in the film adaptation of his nearly fatal climb up the [[Siula Grande]] mountain. Referring to the moment when he lay at the bottom of a deep crevasse, dehydrated, alone, and with a broken leg, he states: |
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"I was totally convinced I was on my own, that no one was coming to get me. I was brought up as a devout Catholic. I'd long since stopped believing in God. I always wondered if things really hit the fan, whether I would, under pressure, turn round and say a few [[Hail Mary]]s and say 'Get me out of here'. It never once occurred to me. It meant that I really don't believe and I really do think that when you die, you die, that's it, there's no afterlife."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/nWhmOwGqcMQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110504145301/http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=nWhmOwGqcMQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWhmOwGqcMQ |title=Touching the Void atheism |website=www.youtube.com |accessdate=8 April 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |
"I was totally convinced I was on my own, that no one was coming to get me. I was brought up as a devout Catholic. I'd long since stopped believing in God. I always wondered if things really hit the fan, whether I would, under pressure, turn round and say a few [[Hail Mary]]s and say 'Get me out of here'. It never once occurred to me. It meant that I really don't believe and I really do think that when you die, you die, that's it, there's no afterlife."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/nWhmOwGqcMQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110504145301/http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=nWhmOwGqcMQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWhmOwGqcMQ |title=Touching the Void atheism |website=www.youtube.com |accessdate=8 April 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist|group=note}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [ |
* [https://www.militaryatheists.org Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers] (USA) |
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* [https://defencehumanists.org.uk Defence Humanists] (UK) |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131212104137/http://armedforceshumanists.org.uk/about/ United Kingdom Armed Forces Humanist Association] |
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* [ |
* [https://www.mrff.org Military Religious Freedom Foundation] (USA) |
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Revision as of 04:51, 11 January 2022
"There are no atheists in foxholes" is an aphorism used to suggest that times of extreme stress or fear can prompt belief in a higher power.[1] In the context of actual warfare, such a sudden change in belief has been called a foxhole conversion.
Origin
The statement's origin is uncertain.[2] The U.S. military chaplain William Thomas Cummings may have coined the phrase during a field sermon during the Battle of Bataan in 1942,[3] though scholars have been unable to find a firsthand witness to the sermon.[4][5] Other sources credit Lieutenant Colonel Warren J. Clear (or the anonymous sergeant he spoke with there), who was also at Bataan and published the usage in 1942;[6] or Lieutenant Colonel William Casey. The phrase is often attributed to war correspondent Ernie Pyle;[7][8][9][10] however, no such source published prior to Pyle's death is known. It was also quoted by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in remarks broadcast from the White House as part of a February 7, 1954, American Legion Program. With slightly different wording, the statement appears much earlier in press reports dating from the end of the First World War, while a similar concept has been sought in Plato's Laws, and in Karl Marx's uote that "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people".[2][11]
Usage
While primarily used to comment on the experiences of combat soldiers, the aphorism has been adapted to other perilous situations, as in "There are no atheists in probate court".[12] Although the adage occasionally means that all soldiers in combat are "converted" under fire, it is most often used to express the belief of the speaker that all people seek a divine power when they are facing an extreme threat.[1][13] The quote is also referenced when discussing the opposite effect — that warfare causes some soldiers to question their existing belief in God due to the death and violence around them.[14][15][16]
The quote has also been used in non-military contexts. In September 2008, in the depths of the financial crisis of 2007–2010, both Ben Bernanke and Paul Krugman popularized a version of the quote in reference to financial crises. They paraphrased Harvard professor Jeffrey Frankel, who originally wrote in the Cato Journal a year earlier, "They say 'there are no atheists in foxholes.' Perhaps, then, there are also no libertarians in crises."[17] The sentence is also quoted in the Gustav Hasford's novel The Short-Timers.[citation needed]
Inaccuracy
Several atheist organizations object to the claim. The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers has adopted the catchphrase "Atheists in Foxholes" to emphasize that the original statement is cliché rather than fact.[18] The religious convictions of current US military personnel are similar to those of the general American population, though studies suggest that members of the military are slightly less religious.[19] Department of Defense (DoD) demographics show that "Atheist" is selected as a religious preference (0.55% or less than 1 percent of the total DoD force) more than non-Christian options such as Agnostic (0.12%), Hindu (0.07%), Buddhist (0.38%), Muslim (0.24%), and Jewish (0.33%).[20] Author James Morrow said: "That maxim, 'There are no atheists in foxholes,' it's not an argument against atheism — it's an argument against foxholes."[21] In 2015, describing the phrase as a "tired, old, untrue cliché", the Freedom From Religion Foundation erected a monument to "Atheists in Foxholes", commemorating American atheist, agnostic, freethinking, and skeptical US armed services veterans.[22]
Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void, addresses the issue in the film adaptation of his nearly fatal climb up the Siula Grande mountain. Referring to the moment when he lay at the bottom of a deep crevasse, dehydrated, alone, and with a broken leg, he states: "I was totally convinced I was on my own, that no one was coming to get me. I was brought up as a devout Catholic. I'd long since stopped believing in God. I always wondered if things really hit the fan, whether I would, under pressure, turn round and say a few Hail Marys and say 'Get me out of here'. It never once occurred to me. It meant that I really don't believe and I really do think that when you die, you die, that's it, there's no afterlife."[23]
References
- ^ a b Reese, Thomas J. (May 31, 2007). "No Atheists in Fox Holes". Washington Post Company. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009.
- ^ a b "Discussion on Linguist List". Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "I Saw the Fall of the Philippines", Carlos Peña Romulo
- ^ Crosby, Donald F. (1994). Battlefield Chaplains: Catholic Priests in World War II. Page 26
- ^ Page 2 of Fulton Sheen's Wartime Prayerbook
- ^ "The Heroic Defense of the Philippines", reprinted in Reader's Digest, July 1942
- ^ "Oops! He Did It Again! Brokaw Repeats Canard, "There Are No Atheists In Foxholes" During NBC Evening News". Flashline. American Atheists. 2003-03-12. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
- ^ Johnson, Chip. sfgate.com; "GI turns to Islam to find God." San Francisco Chronicle. Monday, March 6, 2006. Accessed Nov-22-2009.
- ^ "Faith, Hope, and Charity in North Carolina". Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ Down in the drink: true stories of the Goldfish Club, Ralph Barker 1955
- ^ McKinnon, Andrew M. (2005). "Reading 'Opium of the People': Expression, Protest and the Dialectics of Religion". Critical Sociology. 31 (1–2): 15–38. doi:10.1163/1569163053084360. hdl:2164/3074. S2CID 143119316.
- ^ "no atheists on a sinking ship - Google Search". www.google.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "Report on Chaplains." Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers. Accessed Nov-22-2009.
- ^ Resnicoff, Arnold E. (June 28, 2004). "On becoming our own worst enemy". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ Allen, Joshua. There Are No Atheists in Foxholes. Rhode Island Monthly. April 2007 issue.
- ^ "Religion: Atheists & Foxholes". Time Magazine. June 18, 1945. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010.
- ^ Frankel, Jeffrey (Spring–Summer 2007). "Responding to Crises" (PDF). Cato Journal. 27 (2). Cato Institute. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
- ^ "Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers". Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ 21% of US military atheist or non-religious, Source: "America's Military Population". by David R. Segal and Mady Wech Segal. Population Reference Bureau, 2004. page 25 Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ militaryatheists.org, Military Religious Demographics Survey
- ^ December 2001, Faith L. Justice Issue: 3 (2001-12-03). "Interview: James Morrow". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Seering, Lauryn. "FFRF unveils 'Atheists in Foxholes' monument at new headquarters - Freedom From Religion Foundation". ffrf.org. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Touching the Void atheism". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 8 April 2019.