God may well be an equal opportunity deity, but that\u2019s never stopped political leaders and clergy from claiming the Creator favors their side over the other in armed conflicts. Indeed, the use and abuse of God and religion were never more evident than during the \u201cWar to End All Wars,\u201d\u009d World War I, which began 100 years ago in 1914.<\/p>\n
In his 2010 book \u201cFaith in the Fight: Religion and the American Soldier in the Great War,\u201d\u009d University of Illinois professor Jonathan Ebel examines American soldiers\u2019 many attempts to find religious meaning in the midst of a perplexing and catastrophic war.<\/p>\n
America didn\u2019t enter the fighting until 1917, but when Woodrow Wilson, the son of a Presbyterian minister, urged Congress to declare war on Germany, the president used traditional religious language: \u201cThe day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness \u201d\u00a6 God helping her, she can do no other.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n