Religion in War

From the Byzantine-Muslim War of 645 to today's conflicts in the Middle East, religion has played a powerful and critical role in many wars throughout history. All sides like to claim god or a group of gods as being on their side. Not only is religion used as a justification for war, but also as a coping mechanism for those involved in war. While the majority of war novels do not tackle the role of religion in warfare directly, it no doubt plays an integral role.

In Catch-22, author Joseph Heller examines one of the roles of religion in wartime: that it is to be questioned. In the novel, multiple characters ponder the existence of God. One of the most poignant questions is if God loves us so much, why are human lives valued so little? An example of this occurs when Clevinger disappears. Yossarian can't believe it has happened, and he even crafts a story that the men went AWOL and aren't dead. When he tells ex-PFC Wintergreen his theory though, he was basically ignored. This shows the lack of respect for another human life.