There Are No Atheists in Foxholes
I’ve always wondered about the meaning of the title quote. My first intuition was that it is a cheap shot at atheists, but the more I think about it, the less sure I am.
James Morrow said the argument is against foxholes, not atheism. As of my writing, Wikipedia’s first paragraph suggests that the phrase is ‘used to imply that atheists really do believe in a god deep down, and that in times of extreme stress or fear, such as when participating in warfare, the belief will surface, overwhelming the less substantial affectation of atheism.’ My own definition - I’m sure someone else said it before - is that you have to believe in something before you find yourself in a foxhole, the saying is not religious per se. Last, and perhaps the least, is the suggestion that atheists are cowards and self centred.
Regardless of individual interpretation, I suspect few will argue that ‘no atheists in foxholes’ can favour or discriminate atheists. And I bet that I know which camp those few with a firm belief in a definite interpretation are from, and what meaning they derive from it.