Society and the Soldier's Soul: Is the Warrior's Purification Ritual Needed or Possible in Modern America

Abstract

In various historical cultures, soldiers underwent a communal, religious post-combat ritual to assist their transition back to civilized life; such a ritual is lacking in modern American culture, but is both needed for those who have experienced combat and possible to reconcile with concepts of American liberal democracy. I will argue that this is possible because politics has assumed the force of religion in America, and that this provides a context for determining what the characteristics of such a ritual might be for modern American society.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2013
Accession Number
AD1022998

Entities

People

  • Tory D. Kindrick

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Chaplains
  • Christianity
  • Department Of Defense
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Families (Human)
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Psychology
  • Religion
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.