Does religion make armies stronger?

[Thumpalumpacus]

There is no replacement for human will, on the battlefield. I'd rather have a good man with a knife than a coward with a gun.

The moral is to the physical is as three to one.

Napoleon I

Indeed, and le Marechal was right. The soldier's will counts for much. But there's no demonstration that religion provides courage or fortitude, and in my layman's opinion, those are the qualities he was speaking to.

[Thumpalumpacus]

When you go to war, you are inevitably sacrificing yourself and probably going to die for the cause.

If you speak to veterans you eventually find that they fight for their buddies.  "Causes" are for politicians and other REMFs.

^^^this^^^

When your ass is on the line, you fight hardest for those fighting with you ... and you don't check the religion line on their dogtags.

[Minimalist]

My slightly older cousin spent 1970 in Vietnam.  He regarded the war as a clusterfuck and the army as a collection of brass hats who didn't have a clue.  Still, he got a bronze star for exposing himself to enemy fire to rescue a wounded comrade.

He didn't give a flying fuck about the South Vietnamese or the 'cause.'

[Anomalocaris]

Would you want to meet this on the battlefield?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3mDLsyn6ns

The moon trying to influence the tides would not want to meet this in orbit.

[Anomalocaris]

The Iraqi army had every technological advantage needed over ISIS.  In the end, the only thing they used were good running shoes.

Iraqi army did not give itself the technological advantage.   Technology gifted from outside often counts for much less than the wherewithal to develope the technology.   It is the wherewithal to develope the technology in a broad and sustained way that religious fervor, try as they might for their own short term expediency, can not but cripple.

[Minimalist]

I don't know about that one, Chuck.  However they got it they had it.  And now ISIS has it because the Iraqis lacked the will to fight.

ISIS may be psychotic, goat-fucking, muslim slimebags.... but they believe.  And it shows.

[rado84]

This is precisely why it gets stronger - They don't think and just obey, live slaves.

This is precisely why it gets weaker! History has proved wars are being won not by religious bigotry but by capable of thinking generals and tactics. Bigot army will simply throw itself on the line of fire because "god" will protect them and they'll die while the enemy army will survive to win the war.
It's absolutely the same as the matches in "World of Tanks" - the noobs throw themselves somewhere in the open without any team-mates to protect them (because of the stupid belief they'll survive on their own) and naturally they're being destroyed by the enemies who know how to ambush.
I can't explain it any better but I hope you understood it.

The only thing that religion does to the soldiers is making them merciless killers. Nothing else.

[The Grand Nudger]

Religion doesn't do that either. It's useless, as usual.

[robvalue]

There is only thing that wins wars. The correct choice of beverage.

http://youtu.be/qRuNxHqwazs

[abaris]

If you speak to veterans you eventually find that they fight for their buddies.  "Causes" are for politicians and other REMFs.

I guess they're primarily fighting for survival. The buddies part may play a role, but that's already a statement made after the action.