Atheism

God plays a part in the novel, but does not come up very frequently. The part God plays in the novel can be seen as small because of this, or it can be seen as large because of the conspicuous absence. In times of suffering, questions of God tend to come up; religious men ask for God's guidance, and atheists point out how a good God cannot exist because he would not let terrible things happen. There is little of this discussion, though it crops up occasionally as an undercurrent. Dunbar is the stark voice of atheism in the novel, flatly declaring, " there is no god." Though there is little debate on the topic, there is little hope or good will to speak of among the men. There are few good Samaritans, and not often does a character " turn the other cheek." The good are not rewarded, and the evil are not punished. If the conventional Judeo-Christian God is present in the lives of the men, he does not have a loud voice.

The first character introduced in the entire novel is the chaplain. Yossarian is " madly in love with him." A.T. Tappman has " diffident" eyes and frequently fidgets. He is very nice, has a girl back home named Mary whom he misses " tragically, " and all he wants to do is help others. However, he does not know how to help the men; he says that he makes most of the men " uncomfortable." Some of them are atheists, most of them do not trust authority of any sort, and not many of them get along with others very well. Mostly, though, there is little the chaplain can do to change any of their situations, and his impotence is as frustrating to him as it is to them. He cannot heal their wounds, he cannot keep them from flying dangerous missions, and he cannot write them orders to be sent home. As he talks to Yossarian in the first chapter, he repeatedly asks if there is anything he can do for Yossarian. " No, " Yossarian tells him, " I'm sorry."

Lieutenant Scheisskopf's wife and Yossarian have the most overt theological debate in the novel. She is brought to tears when Yossarian goes on a diatribe about how God is either " playing" or has " forgotten all about us." He calls God a " clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed." When she begins to hit him for his comments, he is incredulous. He asks her if she even believes in God, and she says she does not. But she says, " the God I don't believe in is a good God, a just God, a merciful God." They reconcile that they both " won't believe in the God" they want to. This conversation, while comic in its illogic, highlights how the characters in the novel want to believe in God but are disheartened by suffering. They want to believe in goodness and hope, but they are frustrated by the realities of the world, and they do not see a supreme being coming to the rescue. While Yossarian and Lieutenant Scheisskopf's wife both admit that they do not believe in God, they both belie their desire to believe. Atheism in the novel is the state most characters find themselves in as frustrated believers. On such points they are more confused than determinate.