Religion and American Troops in World War Ii
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2013 BEYOND THE BATTLE: RELIGION AND AMERICAN TROOPS IN WORLD WAR II Kevin L. Walters University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Walters, Kevin L., "BEYOND THE BATTLE: RELIGION AND AMERICAN TROOPS IN WORLD WAR II" (2013). Theses and Dissertations--History. 21. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/21 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. 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REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s dissertation including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Kevin L. Walters, Student Dr. Kathi Kern, Major Professor Dr. David Hamilton, Director of Graduate Studies BEYOND THE BATTLE: RELIGION AND AMERICAN TROOPS IN WORLD WAR II ____________________________________ DISSERTATION ____________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Kevin L. Walters Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Kathi Kern, Associate Professor of History Lexington, Kentucky Copyright © Kevin L. Walters 2013 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION BEYOND THE BATTLE: RELIGION AND AMERICAN TROOPS IN WORLD WAR II This dissertation examines the ways in which military personnel interacted with religion during World War II. It argues that the challenges of wartime service provided the impetus and the opportunity to improvise religious practices, refine religious beliefs amid new challenges, and broaden religious understanding through interaction with those from other traditions. Methodologically, this dissertation moves beyond existing analyses that focus primarily on institutions and their representatives such as military chaplains. Instead, it explores first-person accounts left by men and women who were not part of the chaplain corps and analyzes ways in which non-chaplains engaged religion. The exigencies of war contributed to religious innovation as soldiers and sailors improvised religious practices. Lay leaders sometimes filled in to lead services as chaplains were often not available. Soldiers and sailors also modified individual religious practices such as diet, fasting, and prayer to fit the context of military service. The challenges of wartime service also led troops to refine previously held religious beliefs as well as to adopt new interpretations based on personal experiences. Soldiers and sailors often clung to whatever religious beliefs or practices they saw as potentially beneficial. Finally, religious mixing combined with social dislocation and stress to create an atmosphere in which troops questioned and reformulated their religious identities. As soldiers and sailors formed bonds with those from other traditions, it became more difficult to maintain previous assumptions rooted in suspicion and rumor about other faiths. Understanding how soldiers and sailors interacted with religion in World War II anticipates significant aspects of what many scholars have described as a religious revival in the two decades following the war. It suggests that many veterans returned to civilian life with more confidence in their own religious agency and with sharpened conceptions of what they considered religious essentials. KEYWORDS: World War II, Religion, Civil-Military Relations, Religious Cooperation, Religious Conflict ___Kevin L. Walters___________________ Student’s Signature ___December 2, 2013__________________ Date BEYOND THE BATTLE: RELIGION AND AMERICAN TROOPS IN WORLD WAR II By Kevin L. Walters ______Kathi Kern______ Director of Dissertation ____David Hamilton____ Director of Graduate Studies ___December 2, 2013___ CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................1 Chapter 2. Exigencies of War: Lay Leadership ............................................................. 21 Chapter 3. Expressing Worship ..................................................................................... 49 Chapter 4. Testament: Religious Reading in Wartime ................................................... 79 Chapter 5. Help from Beyond: Seeking Supernatural Intervention .............................. 105 Chapter 6. For God and Country: Interpreting Events through a Religious Lens .......... 131 Chapter 7. Matzahs and Mangers: Religious Holidays in Wartime .............................. 162 Chapter 8. Encountering Faith: Responses to Religious Difference ............................. 192 Chapter 9. Conclusion: Remaking America ................................................................ 223 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 245 Vita .............................................................................................................................. 271 iii Chapter 1 Introduction After surrendering to German forces, Pfc. Clarence Swope spent Christmas of 1944 in Stalag 4c. About a dozen imprisoned soldiers decided to gather in an empty tent for an impromptu prayer service on Christmas Eve. Though he had never been outwardly religious, Swope decided to participate. A young soldier volunteered to lead since there were no chaplains housed with the enlisted men. Swope recalled that as they prayed together, “It seemed as though we all knew we had nothing to fear; and we had an extreme feeling of security and well-being.”1 Years later in a recording he made for his son, Swope reflected, “It was such a moving experience that I’ll never—I doubt whether I’ll ever experience it again.”2 Swope continued by explaining that he seldom went to church after the war because he never found that same feeling in civilian congregations. For troops such as Swope, the war often challenged existing religious beliefs and practices. As they sought to reconcile their experiences, many Americans reshaped their religious worldviews in ways that sometimes had lasting legacies long after they returned home. Over sixteen-million Americans served in the US armed forces during World War II. These soldiers, sailors, and marines brought with them a spectrum of religious beliefs and practices. For some, religion was likely an important part of their lives and culture. Others probably spurned most forms of religion. Most, perhaps, were indifferent. 1 Clarence O. Swope, “World War II Diary,” 1986, 25, Clarence O. Swope Collection (AFC/2001/001/145), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. 2 Clarence O. Swope, interview by Tom Swope, unpublished transcript, ca 1977, Clarence O. Swope Collection (AFC/2001/001/145), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. 1 Existing analyses of the significance of religion for Americans in World War II have focused almost exclusively on institutional forms of religion such as military chaplaincy and the outreach of civilian religious bodies. Though this remains an important angle, such focus obscures important aspects of the ways in which the vast majority of US troops interacted with religion. Understanding how soldiers and sailors experienced religion in wartime will help scholars interpret the significance of religion in America in the decades following the war. This dissertation argues that the challenges of wartime service provided the impetus and the opportunity to improvise religious practices, refine religious beliefs amid new challenges, and broaden religious understanding through interaction with those from other traditions. In the years leading up to World War II, the American religious landscape was becoming increasingly diverse but a Protestant hegemony still dominated public life. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, unparalleled numbers of Catholics and Jews immigrated