Bringing God to men

the long version

During the latter half of the twentieth century, the American military chaplaincy underwent a profound transformation. A broad-based and ecumenical institution in the post-World War II era, the chaplaincy emerged from the Vietnam War as generally conservative and evangelical. In both eras -- before and after the conflict in Vietnam -- the political, martial, and religious views of the chaplaincy mirrored those of mainstream religious and military culture. During the Vietnam War, though, the chaplaincy underwent an exceptional divergence from this conformation to the mainstream. Because of their dual allegiances to their denominations and to the military, chaplains found themselves thrown into the middle of the heated contention surrounding the conflict. Drawing from previously unpublished memories, periodicals, official histories, and oral interviews, Jacqueline Whitt charts the role of the chaplaincy in mediating conflicts between their often anti-war faiths and the military. In this benchmark study, Whitt shows how Vietnam War-era chaplains served as vital links between diverse communities, sometimes working to reconcile -- both personally and publicly -- conflicting worldviews, while creating religious contexts unique to combat based on shared experience rather than traditional theologies. - Publisher.