It may seem obvious that the Great War, with its immense cost in
terms of lives lost and injuries of body and mind incurred, must
have had a significant impact on the religious faith of the British
people. There is much anecdotal evidence to support that
perception, but how typical of the wider population of combatants
and civilians were those stories? In Faith in Conflict, Stuart Bell
examines a wide range of published and archival sources to explore
how the war affected the beliefs of the churchgoers of wartime
Britain, as well as the majority who rarely attended church, but
who believed in God and in the afterlife. The language which they
heard from the pulpits and the hymns that they sang expressed a
variety of responses. Undergirding everything was a firm belief
that God was on the side of Britain - a nation divinely chosen to
ensure the triumph of right over military might. Faith in Conflict
explores how ordinary soldiers pondered how an all-powerful God
could allow such carnage and shows that the well-known First World
War fatalism was the least problematic response to the apparent
randomness of falling shells. The language of the 'God of Battles'
and 'Lord of Hosts' is analysed to show how confidence in divine
support was founded on a belief that Britain was, like the Israel
of the Old Testament, fighting with God's support. Two particular
features of wartime faith are identified: the first is the practice
of praying for the dead, which very soon after the start of the
war, became almost universal across the Church of England; the
second is the idea of a suffering God, which was promoted by the
famous chaplain Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (also known as 'Woodbine
Willie'). He argued that rather than a 'passionless potentate', the
only understanding of God which made moral sense in the midst of
the fighting was a 'comrade God' who wept and shared in his
children's suffering. Stuart Bell shows how the language of
chivalry and martyrdom was used to express both the country's
confidence in the righteousness of the cause and the belief that
those who died in what was a Holy War were assured of eternal
salvation. The memoirs of five soldiers - representative of a wide
spectrum of faith - are examined; finally, he explores the reasons
for the very limited influence of the war on religious practice.
'This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the First
World War and its impact on religious faith. Stuart Bell carefully
examines a range of sources, including hymns, local newspapers,
letters, war diaries, the theology of G Studdert Kennedy, memorial
services and other liturgical material, and he comes to the
striking conclusion that the influence on faith was limited. This
undermines and replaces what has been the widely accepted view on
the effects of the War on religious faith. Bell's elegantly written
exploration of religious attitudes is characterised by
thoroughness, even handedness and sound judgment, and the book
holds the reader's attention from first to last'. Professor Frances
Knight, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of
Nottingham. "This is a very thoroughly-researched and clearly
argued book. I especially liked the author's sensitivity to the
nature of the different sources used and the problems involved in
their interpretation. A memorable chapter analyses the poems and
other writings of the celebrity chaplain Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy,
who might be regarded as the book's hero, and whom Stuart Bell
regards as an outstanding, and wrongly neglected, exponent of the
idea of a 'Suffering God'." Hugh McLeod, Emeritus Professor of
Church History, University of Birmingham.
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