We don’t hear the claim that “there are no atheists in foxholes” quite as much today as before - people seem to have largely given up on it. That’s a good thing because, according to a recent study, there may be more atheists in foxholes and in the military than many realize.

Strategy Page reports that active duty military personnel are a bit less religious than Americans in general:

Americans over all are 78 percent Christian, 1.3 percent Jewish, .5 percent Moslem, .4 percent Hindu, 13 percent unknown or none and the rest various other sects and faiths. But the troops are 55 percent Christian, .3 percent Moslem, .27 percent Jewish, .04 percent Hindu, .24 percent Buddhist and 34 percent unknown or no preference. ... While most religions are underrepresented in the military, there are some exceptions. The Mormons (Latter Day Saints), represent 1.3 percent of the American population, and 1.1 percent of the troops. Catholics, which are 25 percent of the population, are 22 percent of the troops.

The lower religiosity might be a generational matter because younger people tend to be less religious. More highly educated people tend to be less religious as well and it seems that the average recruit has more educational experience than others of the same age. It’s uncertain how many of the “unknown or no preference” are nonbelievers, but it seems fair to think that their numbers may be higher in the military than in the general population.

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