The old saying "There are no atheists in foxholes" turns out to be
virtually correct, at least for the U.S. armed forces.

That doesn't mean, however, that all service members belong to a
particular religious denomination. About 27 percent do not
volunteer to have a specific religious preference inscribed on
their dog tags.

Few Atheists In U.S. Foxholes

by Steve Sailer

UPI, April 22, 2003

The religious makeup of the armed forces is similar to that of the
general population.

That doesn't mean, however, that all service members belong to a
particular religious denomination. About 27 percent do not volunteer to
have a specific religious preference inscribed on their dog tags.

Few Atheists In U.S. Foxholes

The old saying "There are no atheists in foxholes" turns out to be
virtually correct, at least for the U.S. armed forces. About 0.1
percent of all American military personnel officially declare
themselves to be atheists.

Few Atheists In U.S. Foxholes

by Steve Sailer

UPI, April 22, 2003


The old saying "There are no atheists in foxholes" turns out to be
virtually correct, at least for the U.S. armed forces. About 0.1
percent of all American military personnel officially declare
themselves to be atheists.

That doesn't mean, however, that all service members belong to a
particular religious denomination. About 27 percent do not volunteer to
have a specific religious preference inscribed on their dog tags.

Congress prohibited the U.S. Census Bureau from inquiring about the
religious affiliations of the general populace, which means there are
no official statistics on the size of the various American faiths. The
military, however, does ask about religion since it employs nearly
3,000 chaplains to meet soldiers' religious needs. For example, a
Marine with a "C" stamped on his dog tag knows that if he is mortally
wounded in battle, the corps will attempt to find a Roman Catholic
chaplain to give him the last rites.

Overall, 44 percent of Americans in the volunteer military call
themselves Protestants and 24 percent say they are Catholics, according
to the Defense Manpower Data Center. The other major world religions
are not heavily represented: Muslims and Jews make up 0.3 percent each,
Buddhists 0.2 percent and Hindus 0.1 percent. The "other" category
numbered 5 percent.

The religious makeup of the armed forces is similar to that of the
general population. A 2000 Gallup Poll found that 56 percent of all
Americans consider themselves Protestant, 27 percent Catholic, 2
percent Jewish, 1 percent Orthodox, 1 percent Mormon, and 5 percent
"other." An additional 8 percent gave their religion as "none." That
doesn't mean, though, that 92 percent of the public is active in an
organized religion. About one of every three Americans said they did
not belong to a church or synagogue.

These Gallup figures tend to be higher for each religion than the
military's numbers because 8 percent of the public stated their
religion was "none," while 27 percent of the armed forces offered "no
preference." This does not necessarily mean, however, that men and
women in the services are more irreligious than the norm. There are
differences between telling a pollster you have no religion and telling
the military that you do not wish to specify a religion.

Among those who do state a religion, Protestants and Catholics both
appear to be about as well-represented in the military as in the
general population.

At 0.3 percent, Jews make up less of the services than they do of the
general population, where estimates of the proportion of Jews center
around 2 percent.

There are several reasons for this. For example, American Jews tend to
be older than the national average with a median age of 41, according
to the 2000 National Jewish Population Survey, compared to 35 for
Americans as a whole. So, fewer Jews are of military age.

Further, this study found that about half of all Jews have bachelor's
degrees, vs. 28 percent overall. While 95 percent of military officers
have college degrees, only about 3 percent of enlistees do, and 85
percent of them have never been to college. Therefore, the percentage
of Jews in the working class from which most enlistees are recruited is
well below the national average.

Muslims, who make up about 1 percent of the population, according to a
Center for Immigration Studies report by Daniel Pipes and Khalid
Durán, are somewhat more represented in the military on a per capita
basis than Jews, but are less represented than Christians.



Steve Sailer (www.iSteve.com) is a columnist for VDARE.com and the film
critic for The American Conservative.



http://www.isteve.com/2003_Few_Atheists_In_U.S._Foxholes.htm

Few Atheists In U.S. Foxholes

by Steve Sailer

UPI, April 22, 2003


The old saying "There are no atheists in foxholes" turns out to be
virtually correct, at least for the U.S. armed forces. About 0.1
percent of all American military personnel officially declare
themselves to be atheists.

That doesn't mean, however, that all service members belong to a
particular religious denomination. About 27 percent do not volunteer to
have a specific religious preference inscribed on their dog tags.

Congress prohibited the U.S. Census Bureau from inquiring about the
religious affiliations of the general populace, which means there are
no official statistics on the size of the various American faiths. The
military, however, does ask about religion since it employs nearly
3,000 chaplains

to meet soldiers' religious needs. For example, a
Marine with a "C" stamped on his dog tag knows that if he is mortally
wounded in battle, the corps will attempt to find a Roman Catholic
chaplain to give him the last rites.

Overall, 44 percent of Americans in the volunteer military call
themselves Protestants and 24 percent say they are Catholics, according
to the Defense Manpower Data Center. The other major world religions
are not heavily represented: Muslims and Jews make up 0.3 percent each,
Buddhists 0.2 percent and Hindus 0.1 percent. The "other" category
numbered 5 percent.