There are no atheists in foxholes
"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. The logic of the argument is also used to argue for the opposite.
Origin
[edit]The statement is an aphorism used to argue that people will believe in, or hope for, a higher power in times of fear or stress, such as during war ("in foxholes").[1] The origin of the quotation is uncertain.[2] The U.S. military chaplain William Thomas Cummings may have said it in 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 often-misrepresented[note 1] partial quote 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]
Usage
[edit]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".[citation needed] 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][12] 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.[13][14][15]
The quote has also been used in non-military contexts. In September 2008, in the depths of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, 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."[16] The sentence is also quoted in the Gustav Hasford's novel The Short-Timers. The quote has been used by but commonly misattributed to economist Paul Krugman.[17]
Criticism
[edit]Several atheist organizations object to the phrase. The Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers has adopted the catch-phrase "Atheists in Foxholes" to criticise the aphorism.[18] Author James K. Morrow said: "That maxim, 'There are no atheists in foxholes,' it's not an argument against atheism — it's an argument against foxholes."[19] 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.[20]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Karl Marx's quote is only quoted in part as the interpretation of the metaphor in its context has received much less attention.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Paul Krugman (2008-12-17). "Other people's wit". New York Times.
- ^ "Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers". Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ Justice, Faith L. (2001-12-03). "Interview: James Morrow". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
- ^ Seering, Lauryn (6 October 2015). "FFRF unveils 'Atheists in Foxholes' monument at new headquarters - Freedom From Religion Foundation". ffrf.org. Retrieved 2021-10-16.