What Role Does Religion Play In Ww1

“God save the King,” you could see this phrase plastered on propaganda all around the British empire, not just a simple phrase but a deeper look into the role that religion played in the war and how the war played out. Although often overlooked, religious propaganda transformed the war and impacted how people saw religion. Consequently, religious propaganda can help to understand World War 1 on a deeper level and help to comprehend why people fought for their country. Originally just a normal war fought between countries, the religious propaganda caused soldiers to look at the war in a different way and convinced them to fight for their faith.

The Christmas truce of 1914 represents an example of religion in world war 1. The soldiers on opposing sides called for an informal cease fire on Christmas to celebrate the holiday together (Christmas Truce of 1914). The Christmas truce presents a testament to the religious underlining that the war had. They stopped the war to celebrate a holiday solely based on the birth of a religious figure, Jesus Christ. Even in the bleak times of war, the soldiers stayed strong in their faith and joined with each other to celebrate. It is said that the soldiers sang Christmas carols together and even played a game of soccer (Christmas Truce of 1914). Without religious propaganda, the

Because of this, religious propaganda caused allied soldiers to see this war as an opportunity to take back the “Holy Land” and the city of Jerusalem (Clemm). Allied soldiers believed that if they beat the Ottoman empire, they could take back the “Holy Land” for themselves. Moreover, allied soldiers knew that this last push could cause the collapse of the already unstable Ottoman empire. All of this came from the religious propaganda that gave soldiers motivation to take back the “Holy