oa Dienaar van twee meesters

In the service of two masters: military chaplains during the First World War

This article treats the work of the British Anglican, German Protestant and French Catholic military chaplains during the First World War. Based on a wide range of sources, the author aims to answer the question of whether these men experienced role tension. This is the tension between their religious and secular responsibilities; between their two masters: the church and the state. Especially British and German chaplains occasionally felt their secular ‘side jobs’ had a negative impact on their religious task. However, most had little difficulty integrating their work for God and their work for troop morale.