Faith and War Lecture Series: The Great War

The Faith and War lecture series will explore the intersection of faith and war through the lens of the art, music, literature, and poetry which distinguish each war era and have influenced the lives of soldiers, their families, their societies – and our world today.

The interplay of faith and war is a driver in human history because faith plays a pivotal role for soldiers during times of war.  It sustains them in their shared commitment to their nation, faith, families, and friends. It fuels their willingness to fight and lay down their lives for their beliefs – and for each other. Faith, also, provides sustenance for their families at home. Indeed, the tapestry of war and peace is woven with the threads of each soldier’s faith and each nation’s perspective of war.

Through lectures, videos, interactive discussion and reflections on art, music, literature, and poetry from each war era, we will relive the soldier’s first-person experience of different wars. Their reactions and reflections will enrich our own understanding of the impact of war in our lives, and their commitment to God and country will reveal something to us about our own faith in times of war.

The Faith and War lecture series is co-sponsored by St. Edmund’s Sacred Arts Institute and its Trauma-Informed Pastoral Care program.