“There Are No Atheists in Foxholes”
BY CHARLOTTE JONES
We’ve all heard the popularized WWII aphorism; “There are no atheists in foxholes.” But has that changed in the past sixty years? Is it possible that there are indeed atheists in the military and that they are beginning to be accepted and acknowledged as a demographic unto themselves?
As of October 25th 2013, Air Force cadets are no longer required to say, “so help me God” in their annual loyalty oath. Added in 1984 following a cheating scandal in a physics course, it was included to emphasize an air of solemnity. However, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation found fault with this practice, citing the separation of Church and State and arguing that individuals should not be forced to make a claim to a religious entity in which they may or may not believe. As a result of these efforts the U.S. Air Force Academy announced the phrase as optional, stating, “Here at the Academy, we work to build a culture of dignity and respect, and that respect includes the ability of our cadets, airmen and civilian airmen to freely practice and exercise their religious preference – or not… So, in the spirit of respect, cadets may or may not choose to finish the Honor Oath with ‘So help me God.’”
As one could imagine, the backlash to this decision was emotional and contentious. A typically resentful commenter on the original Air Force Academy article stated, “So help me GOD…The God would apply to Christians, Jews and Muslims…Yet here we are again on a platform to appease one that isn’t in the service has never been in the service and has never called on GOD…Personally I don’t want an officer and a gentleman in the Air Force that does not believe in GOD.”
Perhaps not as wrathful yet equally as vocal is Glenn Beck’s news site, TheBlaze, which targets the MRFF’s founder, Michael Weinstein, as a Christian hating, atheist proselytizer and God renouncer. Weinstein is indeed a controversial figure who employs passionate language that can be interpreted as abrasive and partisan. Yet he actively argues that he and the MRFF are not advocating for the eradication of religion. Instead, they envision the true and practiced separation of Church and State they claim the Founding Fathers meant to create. However, this line of reasoning is where the dialogue reaches an impasse. It is not that conservative Christians cannot read what the First Amendment says; it is that they simply have an ideological interpretation of it that is fundamentally in opposition to the MRFF’s. While one side sees the United States as being founded on Protestant ideals, the other desires to emphasize the religious freedom America offered Puritan refugees. Both sides have historical legitimacy. Yet both sides cannot continue to espouse their ideology without conservative Christian’s understanding that the MRFF is not actually on a mission to eradicate Christianity and comprehending that its original power and influence was mistakenly bestowed upon them. Because two centuries ago America’s population was too religious to accept and practice the separation of Church and State.
Unlike Jews and Muslims in the military, Atheists have an extra cross to bear: that of having no cross. Yes, Muslims and Jews were discriminated against and still are today, but these religions have been institutionalized to some degree, even as symbolically as the crescent and Star of David embroidered on their Chaplain’s sleeves. Atheists have no chaplain, no cross, no star, distancing them from the accepted format of belief. They might not want nor need any of these symbols, but the fact that these icons are missing makes the battle for acknowledgment all the more difficult.
Two points of view have been established: one sees their religious freedom being infringed upon and the other seeks to expand religious freedom to include atheism. However, until these two standpoints can see each other’s perspective, fear mongering and stereotyping will continue to be used to force the other into submission.
The United States’ founding ethos supposedly supports diversity. It is time that each individual practices those principles and ensures that while America’s creation was influenced by one religion, its future will support all of them, including the lack of religion. In an ideal world, there will be atheists in foxholes, alongside Jews, alongside Christians. For in addition to soldiers holding their individual religions, they will believe in the one faith they all share in common, the reason they are in that foxhole, that of American patriotism. These soldiers will believe that true loyalty to the United States entails the celebration of individual beliefs, whatever form He, She or it make take.