An interesting article from Illinois notes the return of a local Army unit from Afghanistan, and focuses on the spiritual support sought by both the troops and their families:

Army Spc. Brian Peters witnessed firsthand what is meant by the familiar adage, “There are no atheists in foxholes…”  A noncommissioned officer he was with began praying during a firefight last year.  “I saw it right there on the battlefield,” Peters said. “We were in a ditch taking sniper fire.”

This suggests people often will appeal to a higher power when their lives are on the line even if they consider themselves atheists.

Several families also noted the importance of local churches in supporting them while their Soldiers were deployed.

The article also notes an interesting study released in June on the spiritual demographics of military outpatients:

A study released in June showed a large majority of military outpatients endorsed a Christian affiliation. The study, published in the Southern Medical Journal, found that 91 percent of the 670 military patients surveyed believe in God compared with 78 percent of the general U.S. population.

The study also showed that 87 percent of the patients were Christian compared with 73 percent of the general U.S. population.

This leads to an interesting discussion on why Christians join the military “in great numbers,” as explained by Air Force Reserve Chaplain Ken Carr:

“I think (Christians) see the blessing of this country and its freedom to practice their faith as something worth defending,” Carr said. “…Since Christ was the ultimate servant, it makes sense that Christians in the military are there to serve…Christians have a hope that goes beyond the grave. Therefore, the idea of dying is not a deterrent to serving in the military.”

 Read more at the Batavia Republican.