An article at the UK Mirror quotes a strikingly strong-worded British officer claiming there is no place for Christianity in the military:

Lieutenant Colonel Laurence Quinn said commanders should no longer send priests to the front line and the forces should have non-religious advisors…

The British Army chaplaincy program is different from the US system, with all 150 or so chaplains being exclusively of the Christian faith.

Interestingly, LtCol Quinn was apparently one of those stereotypical “atheists in foxholes” — that is, one who seemed to retreat from his atheism in the face of war:

Even Lt Col Quinn admits he has tried talking to god when under pressure – especially when he fought in Iraq. In an interview published in Soldier Magazine he said: “I served on Operation Telic in 2006 and it was a tough tour.

“I found myself praying. It was bizarre, and I wondered why I had done that.”

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