What goes through the mind of an American warrior spiritually and religiously when facing the enemy? Treading where few books have gone, The Faith of the American Soldier examines the religious and spiritual issues in America's wars, and then considers what is lost to our military through a secular approach to battle.

Special attention is paid to the current war in Iraq, where Mansfield reaches surprising conclusions about the need for structured faith on the battlefield-and how its absence contributes to catastrophes like those at Abu Ghraib prison.