Intense World War II Combat Increased Long Term Religiosity

Scared into believing? After the battle, the moral and mortality stresses of combat influence different people in different ways. Using two large-scale surveys of World War II veterans, this research investigates the role of combat and long-term religiosity. Study 1 shows that as combat became more frightening, the percentage of soldiers who reported praying rose from 42% to 72%. Study 2 shows that 50 years after combat, many soldiers still exhibited religious behavior, but it varied by their war experience. Heavy combat (versus no combat) was associated with a 21% increase in church attendance for those who claimed their war experience was negative, but a 26% decrease for those who claimed it was positive. The more a veteran disliked the...
Source: FuturePundit - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs