The Role of Religious Ritual
Interesting twist toward magic this thread took. Maybe it was my mention of Skorupski, but in any event, I will go out on a limb and say that in war, it is important for forces to carry with them some symbolism of divine favor. Otherwise, the opponent has an advantage. I dunno how Prof. Tyrrell will respond to this. He seems pretty smart, but as for this prof., I would argue that accoutriments and rhetoric of divine favor go a long way. Again, a Durkheimian sociology of religion approach might be helpful. I often remind my students that on page 14 of Durkheim's book on religion, he says "no social institution can rest on a lie" and if a thing persists, it must be for some reason, so if you can understand the part of it (the kernel) that isn't a lie, you will truly understand the reason. I find this works for many things strange and inexplicable, or at least it makes my students think I'm smart. Skorupski, Douglas, and the like make a lot out of purity/impurity rituals of course, and the connection with order/disorder is obvious as is the sacred/profane juxtaposition found throughout almost all sociology since Durkheim. Attitude change under this conception occurs during the metamorphesis in passing from the sacred to the profane. Hence, the key to religious ritual success is bringing the other-worldly down to earth, and I would argue that interpretation or content doesn't matter because what matters is the enactment of the ritual or the sense of bonding which occurs among a group when something significant (something cosmos changing) has happened. All for one, one for all. Now, one could bring in criminology here about bond theory, but more relevant is the Durkheimian idea of a normative moral bond which consists simply in the feeling that something significant happened which had a community effect and made people feel obligated to respect it. Call it magic, or whatever, but it would work. Love is supposed to work like this, as do rites of passage and some entertainment blockbusters. Wish I could tease out some specific applications.
Spiritual and Practical Dilemmas- the Line and the Circle
Godless, cursing, whoring Marines don't necessarily make for good COIN ambassadors and implementers nor does marching into battle with a man bleeding and nailed to a cross inspire much respect in enemies and I am not trying to disparage Christianity here. It's sort of like taking the family to some foreign land for a visit, deciding to spend a day on the beach, arriving and finding that the locals all go to the beach naked - it just ain't easy under such circumstances to establish repoire and interaction. Technology certainly can't bridge the gap and fill the vacum and being respectful of another's spirituality in no way communicates that the other's beliefs are understood. Better training, unit cohesion, discipline, technology and logistics give us the edge but local support of an insurgency can check that advantage and a common denominator in that equasion is shared spirituality. It is an equalizer IMO. From a schematic view, the line dominates as it penetrates the circle and as it exits but it remains contained by 358 degrees of the circle at all times. Our linear orientation, from their perspective, is that of those with no Divine assistance penetrating those with Divine assistance, penetrating, not meeting.