Enlisting Faith: How the Military Chaplaincy Shaped Religion and State in Modern America
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.42 (788 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0674972155 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-05-27 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Enlisting Faith traces the uneven processes through which the military struggled with, encouraged, and regulated religious pluralism over the twentieth century.Moving from the battlefields of Europe to the jungles of Vietnam and between the forests of Civilian Conservation Corps camps and meetings in government offices, Ronit Y. Enlisting Faith is a vivid portrayal of religious encounters, state regulation, and the trials of faithin God and countryexperienced by the millions of Americans who fought in and with the armed forces.. Just as the state relied on religion to sanction war and sanctify death, so too did religious groups seek recognition as American faiths. Today it counts Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Christian Scientists, Buddhists, Seventh-day Adventists, Hindus, and evangelicals among its ranks. While officials debated which clergy could serve, what insignia they would wear, and what religions appeared on dog tags, chaplains led worship for a range of faiths, navigated questions of conscience, struggled with discrimination, and confronted untimely death. But religious citizens pushed back, challenging the state to uphold constitutional promises and moral standards.Despite the constitutional separation of church and state, the federal government authorized and managed religion in the military. At times the state used religion to advance imperial goals. S
Ronit Y. Stahl is a fellow in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
(Jon Butler, author of Becoming America)Cutting across a century of perpetual war, shifting its analytic gaze from bureaucratic functions of the state to the people of faith who served, from mainline denominations to religious movements on the rise, Ronit Stahl's study of the military chaplaincy brilliantly recasts our understanding of church-state relations in the modern era. An essential book for students of American religion, politics, and history. Startling, incisive, and gorgeously written, Stahl's book shows how the military's reluctance to accept cultural and religious complexity demeaned soldiers and compromised chaplains as they grappled with death, maiming injuries, and the terrors of war. EnlistingFaith vividly explores American military commanders' century-long