A skeptical analysis of “There are no atheists in foxholes”

By Navin Kumar
Article ID: 1261

 

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The phrase “there are no atheists in foxholes” has been around for a long time. It’s used with phrases like “there are no atheists in a crashing plane” or “there are no libertarians during a financial crisis”. It’s a way of saying that even those who claim to be very principled forget their principles during an emergency. More narrowly, it’s a way of asserting that atheists do actually believe in God and are simply in denial. This supposes that during times of great stress - like when you’ve just parachuted into Landmine County - religious belief rises to the surface and blasts away all “pretensions”.

What’s the rebuttal to “there are no atheists in foxholes”?

There is no logical rebuttal to this claim. Why? Because it’s not an argument. “There are no atheists in foxholes” is an assertion. It’s like saying “X is equal to 6.78“. It’s either true or it isn’t. But in the interests of being thorough, let’s give the phrase more dignity than it deserves and raise it to the level of a theory. If a person presents such a theory, he is expected to present some kind of empirical data or experiment to back it up. In this case, there is no empirical evidence. A possible experiment could involve recording the religious orientation of outgoing soldiers, and then asking the returning atheists a question like the following:

While in your foxhole, did you ever have a moment when you decided that God exists?

a) Yes.

b) No.

c) I was too busy trying not to get decapitated to think about it.

No one has ever conducted this kind of survey. If someone claims “there are no atheists in foxholes”, the only proper retort to this bigoted sentence is “Yes, there are.”

If it’s such faulty reasoning, why do people claim there are no atheists in foxholes?

Theists believe that atheists live in denial because a theist’s belief in God is based largely on faith, rather than reasoning or empirical evidence. They feel God’s presence, and can’t understand how others don’t. So they conclude that other people do in fact feel him but are lying due to some ulterior motive. Psychologists call this “projection” (although the term may not be technically right: projection deals with unwanted qualities and most theists would reject the idea of theism being unwanted). A selfish person sees everyone else as being selfish. A liar sees dishonesty everywhere. And a religious person cannot believe other people can be so spiritually blind. They assume that everyone is the same as them, despite what others claim. With this understanding, it’s easier to see how so many people can believe an assertion without evidence.

Of course, the atheist-in-foxholes phrase is irrelevant to the question of whether a god exists or not. If there are atheists in foxholes, a theist could argue that it’s just an example of divinely-created free will. On the other hand, simply beliving in something doesn’t make it true.

Do wars convert warriors into believers?

Yes, but not the way theists intend. Anecdotal evidence (which, it should be warned, is unreliable) suggests that battlefield conversions do happen, but in the opposite direction: faced with the horror of war, soldiers start to wonder if a kind, benevolent, all-powerful God would allow something like this to happen. Specifically, “either there is no God, or He’s a bastard”.

Andrew Cline - in his blog “About.com Guide to Atheism since 1998” - received a letter from a US Marine who said: 

“Not that this would be admitted or last after combat is over, but even the marines praying every night when we were in the rear weren’t pleading for god’s help in combat. They were acting just like atheists, ducking and covering, shooting back; trying to save themselves. Never once did I see someone stop and pray for help. They use religion to get them through day to day, but when it hits the fan so to speak, they don’t take chances relying on god.”

And here’s a quote from Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Hocus Pocus:

“The sermon was based on what he claimed was a well-known fact, that there were no atheists in foxholes. I asked Jack what he thought of the sermon afterwards, and he said, ‘There’s a Chaplain who’s never visited the front.’”

So are there atheists in foxholes?

Of course there are. One example is Philip Paulson, who received the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s first “Atheists in Foxholes” award. Paulson, who served in Vietnam, filed suit against the city of San Diego to remove a cross from Mount Soledad, a highly visible, elevated location. He won, but the case was appealed (and is currently in the Supreme Court). During the case, Anne Nicol Gaylor - the president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation - proposed an “Atheists in Foxholes” monument. Such a monument was erected in 1999 at Lake Hypatia, Alabama. Paulson died of cancer in 2006. The monument reads:

“In memory of ATHEISTS IN FOXHOLES and the countless FREETHINKERS who have served this country with honor and distinction.

Presented by the national Freedom From Religion Foundation with hope that in the future humankind may learn to avoid all war.”

The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers was started by Master Sergeant Kathleen Johnson. She is a West Point graduate who claims that atheist soldiers are discriminated against by their officers.

Johnson’s group hasn’t been idle. Letter writing campaigns have been organized against TV news journalists for repeating the “atheists in foxholes” line on TV. These journalists include Katie Couric, Bill Weir, Tom Brokaw, and Bob Schieffer. Bill Wier later retracted his statement. Bob Schieffer later issued a public apology. The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers even marched on the Mall in Washington DC in 2005, which attracted atheists from different eras. We get this quote about the event from the now-defunct blog “Atheist Mommy” via Andrew Cline:

“…we met a man who saved hundreds of men in WWII. He said, ‘No atheists in foxholes[?], I wasn’t in [just] one, I was in thirty.’ This man is 90 years old and was the oldest atheist I had ever seen and met. There were several foxhole atheists who came up there, told their story and also mentioned that they were either second generation or that their children also were atheists. It gives me hope.”

Most atheists come to their belief by thinking and reasoning. Once you arrive at a conclusion by rigorously testing a theory, will you give it up simply because you’re under a lot of pressure? Unlikely. Religious faith is not required in order to honorably serve your country. We hear this concept in a poem by Alice Shiver, of which the last lines read:

“By air, land, and sea, you answer freedom’s call.

Without god or faith, you seek liberty for all.”

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