The veteran was frustrated when he saw the church minister's statement: I was not sent twice "for God"

Emil Arenholt Mosekjær fought for "making the world a better place" when he spent six months in Afghanistan and three months in Mali.

It wasn't for Christianity – a value that future soldiers should fight for according to church minister Morten Dahlin.

"There is no one who goes to war for a daycare center with a high minimum wage or for Mærsk's star. You go to war for your country and for the worthy foundation that your nation rests upon – and that is also Christianity," says Morten Dahlin in Berlingske (https://www.berlingske.dk/debatinterview/v-ministeren-morten-dahlin-danske-soldater-skal-kaempe-for).

This claim cannot be recognized by Emil Arenholt Mosekjær.

He was not sent twice "for God".

"I agree that we need to look inward and think about what we are really fighting for, and what we want to hold onto. For me, it is not Christianity, but Western values. And in Western values, Christianity plays a role, but there is just as much importance given to things like democracy, freedom, the free market, welfare society, and rock'n'roll," says Emil Arenholt Mosekjær.

The answer does not lie in Christianity. And it should not be drawn into the defense of the nation, sounds it from the former soldier.

"We should rather focus on what makes Europe and Denmark a good place to live."

But Morten Dahlin says himself that one does not necessarily have to have a strong relationship with Christianity. It is only about fighting for Christianity, which is also a part of Danish values?

"I acknowledge that Christianity has played a large role in the Danish mindset. It cannot be avoided, but there are many other things that also make a difference. And they are at least as important to fight for."

--------------------------------------

Reducing his Danishness to Christianity

--------------------------------------

In total, Emil Arenholt Mosekjær has spent five years in the military.

Today, he is part of the Military Reserve, and he is trained as a journalist from the Danish School of Media and Journalism.

He was in 2012 sent to Afghanistan as an armored engineer and in 2019 to Mali as part of the security force that protected the UN camp that housed the Danish contribution.

Therefore, the veteran went on Facebook when he saw Morten Dahlins statement in the current newspaper.

In a post, he writes that the church minister reduces his "Danishness and fighting spirit to something with Christianity."

He has since received many messages from soldiers across the country, who cannot recognize the words that the church minister comes with, he claims:

"Overwhelmingly many are in agreement with me, and they do not understand what he means with the statement. As one has written to me, so has the primary combat experience of the Danish military been to fight against religious fanaticism. And now he wants us to go to war with more religion in our baggage."

If according to Emil Arenholt Mosekjær, it is understandable that a church minister goes out and focuses on spirituality.

But he fears that the statement will scare people away from joining the military.

"In the military, we are all equal. I have experienced among soldiers with other ethical backgrounds that it is friendly for them to come into a place where we are all the same on many issues. We are not Christians, Muslims, ethnic Danes or immigrants. We are soldiers who fight for Denmark, and here a private matter like religion should not play a role."

----------------

Fighting for freedom

----------------

The church minister tells in Berlingske that he, based on new data (https://www.gallup-international.bg/en/48127/fewer-people-are-willing-to-fight-for-their-country-compared-to-ten-years-ago/), fears that today's young Danes will not "die for Denmark."

Under every third Western European will fight for their country in case of war in 2024, according to the survey.

Morten Dahlin notes that there is a "large overlap" between places in the world where religion is prominent in society – such as countries in Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia – and countries where the willingness to fight is high.

But these countries believe Emil Arenholt Mosekjær, that we should not compare ourselves with.

"It is some places where democracy and freedom have difficult conditions. It is therefore also societies that we normally do not try to resemble."

According to the former soldier, the lack of defense willingness does not lie in the fact that we have become less religious.

But rather in the fact that we have created a society that is secure and prosperous – and increasingly individualistic. When one has security and peace, one forgets why there is a reason to fight, sounds it from the veteran.

Emil Arenholt Mosekjær is not against being sent again. But in that case, it would not be this time for Christianity.

"I would fight for freedom. I would fight for the right to say what I want. For self-determination, for peace, for security. For the things that we have created here in the West."

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.