“Man cannot exist without belief in God,” said Adolf Hitler in conversation with Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Bavaria in November 1936. “The soldier who for three and four days lies under intense bombardment needs a religious prop.”
Never mind that most people consider the Fuhrer to be uber evil while Christians think he’s an incarnation of the Antichrist, it still resonates with the familiar saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes”.
It’s an old World War II aphorism which is constantly overused by theists to argue that in times of severe stress or fear — such as that experienced on the battlefield — all soldiers believe in, or at least hope for, the existence of a higher power.
There are two problems with this observation. The first is that it begets a belief born of extreme distress which, chances are, will not last once the insufferable situation is over because how could such an experience possibly generate authentic faith?
Besides what kind of a god would actually accept adoration which is not of an abiding nature or part of one’s true heart? It’s more like school kids who start praying when exams are on them.
The second problem is that often the opposite happens. When confronted with the truly horrific, whether physical, mental or emotional, a lot of people suddenly stop being believers as they feel their faith in a good and loving god is completely undermined.
But if it’s true that the issue of atheists in foxholes is iffy, then why the persisting myth? Maybe we should have asked Hitler that before he committed suicide in his foxhole as an intensely bombarding enemy closed in on him.
(This piece first appeared in The Economic Times)