Anzac Spirituality: The First AIF Soldiers Speak

Abstract

We have made Anzac into the spiritual core of what it means to be Australian without ever examining the spiritual core of the Anzacs themselves. This study explores the Anzacs’ spiritual beliefs and experiences largely through their own words, taken from the diaries and letters of over 1,000 soldiers of the First AIF. Far from being indifferent to spiritual matters, their writings reveal an interest in matters of the soul more widespread than previously imagined, with significant numbers demonstrating a deep engagement with God, religion and the human spirit. In the pages of this book, we can hear the voices of the original Anzacs speaking directly to us on institutional religion, personal beliefs and spiritual practices, and morality and ethics that go to the core of our humanity as spiritual beings.