Revisiting the courage to be to understand transition from a military life

Bibliographic Data

ID20242522
AuthorsJan Grimell (0000-0002-7327-8519, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume11
Issue5
Pages387-400
Publication date2018-10-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePractical Theology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1756-073X • E-ISSN: 1756-0748
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1756073x.2018.1474328
OpenAlexW2805213659
LanguageEN
References cited15

This article, drawn from a comprehensive empirical study, offers a theological reflection on the transition from military to civilian life. The author revisits Tillich’s classical existential theology in an attempt to understand the transition as an existential threat to the participants in the study. The transition can be understood as a temporary state of non-being in life where identity, purpose, meaning, community, and belonging are at least initially lost, and this loss has implications for the spiritual and moral life of a service member amid transition. A call to friendship is proposed in order to assist a full transition to civilian life. The author suggests that theological interpretations of the process can contribute alternate voices and enrich the language repertoire and understandings of transition in secularised and pluralised contexts. Additionally, that it is beneficial to cultivate a more fruitful interdisciplinary relationship between the humanities (theology and the social sciences)

Aesthetics · Courage · Epistemology · Existentialism · Friendship · Meaning of life · Military service · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Theology · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Military History and Strategy · Military, Security, and Education Studies · Philosophy