Why is Remembrance Day religious?

[nomiddlename]

Okay, so following a very religious remembrance service this year held after the parade in a nearby town, I'm wondering why religion is still linked to remembering the service men and women who fought/fight in wars.

As a child, I marched with the brownies and girl guides and then sat throught the very long church service but never questionned then (as a child generally wouldn't) why remembrance has to be linked to religion.

Then, today, having googled the subject, I came across this. In the church yesterday, I'd say a good 95% or more of the 40 minute long service was about God and religion and one of the ministers actually said we had to sit and think about our own sins and how we could help bring peace etc.

Now, as an atheist, I sat in a supportive role next to my currently serving DH but tolerant though I am, I was quite taken aback at how little the service was actually about remembering our service men and women.

Why do we have to pray to remember?

Surely the day should be neutral; a day for contemplation and thought about those peope who gave and are still giving their lives?

But I suppose what nomiddlename is questioning, is why the Remembrance Sunday service itself has to involve so much about religion. Why can't it be a general service of remembrance? I think it's a really interesting question, and I suppose I've never thought of it before because of what Dilly says - it just always has been.

According to DASA, nigh on 90% of service personnel self identify as Christian or of Christian tradition. That's an overwhelming proportion of a very relevant group.

The enduring and often increasing support of the existing format (ie the vote with the feet) does not indicate a demand for change. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Especially as there are existing alternatives available.

Miss M, in Brussels because the Pro Cathedral is open to all; is a public place of worship, and you don't need to organise God knows how many security clearances for each and every member of the congregation who want to attend.

I assume that when the Remembrance Sunday service first started, the UK was a Christian country, and the Service was held in the CofE church. It is also a joint civilian and military act of Remembrance, and perhaps a church was a place where people could come together and the ritual was well known.

The readings we had on Monday were about loss in war from the OT and the Sermon on the Mount from the NT; neither glorifies war or God. The prayers were for peace and the Last Post and 'they shall not grow old' and the bit 'for their tomorrows we gave our todays', are not specifically religious.

I think as someone has said either on this thread or the similar one in chat that it is about sanctifying the Act of Remembrance and that a church is the appropriate place to do it, or at the Cenotaph. My db said that when the casualties are brought in at Bastion, or things were going badly, there was an increased attendance at church parade.

I agree with Edith, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The service I went to in Brussels was standing room only at the back, so there is a desire for that format.

This thread has reminded me about our local British Legion service. I'm presuming they have had some falling out with the local C of E church as it used to be that the British Legion would parade down the High Street to the C of E church for the remembrance service.

Now it is held outside on the road by a Unitarian minister, who seemed to forget that whilst the majority of those killed in war are male, there are also female soldiers being wounded and killed, and war doesn't just make widows and orphans, it also makes widowers. Every single comment he made was only about male soldiers. He also took it upon himself to omit the line "take up our quarrel with the foe" from the poem he read out.

I think the religious aspect comes in due to CofE being the 'official' religion of the United Kingdom, the Queen being Head of the Church and all that, and the army chaplains are CofE.

I think you'll find that the CofE is the official church of - England. A cursory glance at a history book will explain why.

actually the church of scotland is presbyterian not episcopalian while the church of wales is episcopalian like the church of england,

when the queen is in scotland she goes to the church of scotland at Crathie near Balmoral ( she is not head of that as there is no head or bishops etc)

my friends DH is a methodist chaplain in naval base in scotland and I know others that are presbyterian etc so the armed forces are not Anglican

A thread about dead serving people ends up as a discussion about religious differences. I think that just about proves OPs point.

All monotheistic religions are saying the same thing and worshipping the same omnipresent creator of truth and love. Doesnt matter how you say it, if you are for truth and love, it all means the same. Christian, Muslim, Jew, or whatever else.

I thought the thread, as per title, was actually and specifically about the religious component, and don't see why discussing it "proves" anything.

There is one obvious remedy for those who want a different style of service - found and develop your own. As with everything, people will vote with their feet.

The RBL services, organised across the country, are if anything increasingly popular. If you want to influence these, then you probably need to join and seek office in your local branch, then work you way up nationally.

The answer has to lie in starting and doing the things you want to exist.