History of the Bible in the US Military

A New York museum is hosting a collection of US military Bibles dating from the mid 1800s to modern times.

The exhibit showcases three dozen copies of Scriptures published for members of the U.S. Armed Forces from the Civil War onward, from leather-bound, 19th-century copies to contemporary Bibles clothed in camouflage.

The books are on loan from the American Bible Society and are a part of the Museum of Biblical Art’s exhibition, “Finding Comfort in Difficult Times: A Selection of Soldiers’ Bibles.”

Some people seem to think that military-style religious texts are something new or subversive.  In fact, they’ve been a part of military history for more than a century.

Read more about the military Bible collection.