I added some reader comments... And I agree he and others like him have the same rights I do. To gather together and talk.
Atheist soldier speaks out: CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - Atheist soldier speaks out

The Associated Press
Published Monday, April 28, 2008
JUNCTION CITY — Like hundreds of young men joining the Army in recent years, Jeremy Hall professes a desire to serve his country while it fights terrorism.

But the short and soft-spoken specialist is at the center of a legal controversy. He has filed a lawsuit alleging he has been harassed and his constitutional rights have been violated because he doesn't believe in God. The suit names Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

READER COMMENTS:

Chuck France / The Associated Press
Specialist Jeremy Hall, an atheist, filed a lawsuit against the Army, claiming harassment.
"I'm not in it for cash," Hall said. "I want no one else to go what I went through."

Known as "the atheist guy," Hall has been called immoral, a devil worshipper and — just as severe to some soldiers — gay, none of which, he says, is true. Hall even drove fellow soldiers to church in Iraq and paused while they prayed before meals.

"I see a name and rank and United States flag on their shoulder. That's what I believe everyone else should see," he said.

Hall, 23, was raised in a Protestant family in North Carolina and dropped out of school before earning his GED. It wasn't until after he joined the Army that he began questioning religion, eventually deciding he couldn't follow any faith.

But he feared how that would look to other soldiers.

"I was ashamed to say that I was an atheist," Hall said.

It eventually came out in Iraq in 2007, when he was in a firefight. Hall was a gunner on a Humvee, which took several bullets in its protective shield. Afterward, his commander asked whether he believed in God, Hall said.

"I said, 'No, but I believe in Plexiglas,'" Hall said. "I've never believed I was going to a happy place. You get one life. When I die, I'm worm food."

The issue came to a head when, according to Hall, a superior officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, threatened to bring charges against him for trying to hold a meeting of atheists in Iraq. Welborn has denied Hall's allegations.

Hall said he had had enough but feared he wouldn't get support from Welborn's superiors. So he turned to Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Weinstein is the foundation's president and a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate. He had previously sued the Air Force for acts he said illegally imposed Christianity on students at the academy, though that case was dismissed. He calls Hall a hero.

"The average American doesn't have enough intestinal fortitude to tell someone to shut up if they are talking in a movie theater," Weinstein said. "You know how hard it is to take on your chain of command? This isn't the shift manager at KFC."

Hall was in Qatar when the lawsuit was filed on Sept. 18 in federal court in Kansas City, Kan. Other soldiers learned of it and he feared for his own safety. Once, Hall said, a group of soldiers followed him, harassing him, but no one did anything to make it stop.

The Army told him it couldn't protect him and sent him back to Fort Riley. He resumed duties with a military police battalion. He believes his promotion to sergeant has been blocked because of his lawsuit, but he is a team leader responsible for two junior enlisted soldiers.

No one with Fort Riley, the Army or Defense Department would comment about Hall or the lawsuit. Each issued statements saying that discrimination will not be tolerated regardless of race, religion or gender.

"The Department respects (and supports by its policy) the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs," said Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense.

All three organizations said existing systems help soldiers "address and resolve any perceived unfair treatment."

Lt. Col. David Shurtleff, a Fort Riley chaplain, declined to discuss Hall's case but said chaplains accommodate all faiths as best they can. In most cases, religious issues can be worked out without jeopardizing military operations.

"When you're in Afghanistan and an IED blows up a Humvee, they aren't asking about a wounded soldier's faith," Shurtleff said.

Hall said he enjoys being a team leader but has been told that having faith would make him a better leader.

"I will take care of my soldiers. Nowhere does it say I have to pray with my soldiers, but I do have to make sure my soldiers' religious needs are met," he said.

"Religion brings comfort to a lot of people," he said. "Personally, I don't want it or need it. But I'm not going to get down on anybody else for it."

Hall leaves the Army in April 2009. He would like to find work with the National Park Service or Environmental Protection Agency, anything outdoors.

"I hope this doesn't define me," Hall said of his lawsuit. "It's just about time somebody said something."

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Reader Comments
+ 7 Rating Posted by: jerw100 at Apr 28, 2008 at 08:55:04 AM
Keep on fighting Jeremy. For our country and for everyone's religious rights. It's a shame that the very institution that is supposed to have freedom as its number one goal, still can't accept atheism. There are still people out there who are afraid of atheists and don't understand that one can be a good person without a belief in a god.

-6 Rating Posted by: weinkauf at Apr 28, 2008 at 09:25:16 AM
This is NOT about religion. Almost 25% of our soldiers claim to be atheist or no religion, over 50% don't go to church. So how does an atheist stand out? Unless he is the one making it an issue. Because he and Pedro and others want to make it an issue, want the media attention, want to sue people for any reason.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: Vanillaice at Apr 28, 2008 at 09:39:29 AM
I love Jeremy's comment about plexiglas. How true. It's laughable when someone says they averted a tragedy, were helped in some way or even won an oscar, award or game because they "prayed" as though if God DOES exist he has nothing better to do than help YOU win a trivial thing like a game or award when people are starving and dying across the globe everyday because of disease, poverty and war. Does that mean that those who pray and don't avert a tragedy or receive help were less deserving or does it mean, perhaps, that it was simply coincidence that came into play for the "deserving" ones. My money's on coincidence.

-5 Rating Posted by: T-TownTracker at Apr 28, 2008 at 10:01:31 AM
In my experice, atheists are usually the attackers, trying to make spirtual people look like fools. If you are atheist, I don't care, just get out of my face.

The right to hold no belief in religion does not mean the right to have meetings based on that as if it were a religion.

-3 Rating Posted by: T-TownTracker at Apr 28, 2008 at 10:02:40 AM
^ in the Army, that is. You of course have the right as a citizen to hold whatever meeting you want.

+ 5 Rating Posted by: niz6 at Apr 28, 2008 at 10:18:13 AM
But shouldn't athiests have the right to meet with other athiests just like Christians have the right to meet with other Christians? I am a Christian but I respect Jeremy's decision to not believe in God. If we say he can't meet with other athiests, aren't we taking away his rights? He states that he respects the others in his unit who do pray. We should respect his beliefs nor non-beliefs too.

-6 Rating Posted by: sundevil at Apr 28, 2008 at 10:29:18 AM
I have no problem with people that say they are Athiests, most just as a attention getter. But 99% of those when faced with death, or a severe disaster will change thier stripes and beg and pray to a God. This world of ours created by someone that had the power of a God. Think about it.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: learnedhand at Apr 28, 2008 at 10:32:25 AM
When they did away with foxholes is when the problem started.

+ 4 Rating Posted by: wasmadau at Apr 28, 2008 at 10:46:32 AM
Please watch the PBS series "Carrier" which shows again Monday night the 28th. It shows what kind of group mentality exists in these fighting units. Anyone perceived as being in any way "different" is in for a hard time.

+ 4 Rating Posted by: zzmunz at Apr 28, 2008 at 10:54:08 AM
An atheist is one who finds no evidence for believing in god, Zeus, Yahweh, whatever. It is not an unreasonable position. Most all the atheists I've met have been as moral and charitable as those I've met who believe in god; and I've read studies which have provided data to support that contention.

+ 4 Rating Posted by: CrazyLarry at Apr 28, 2008 at 11:32:07 AM
"For God and Country"...that is a favorite u.s. military motto--at least it was when I was in the army 20 years ago.

So, T-TownTracker, I guess you've not heard of Phred Phelps and his gang of mongoloids attacking people, right? It's been my experience that a lot of times religious people don't need any help in looking foolish. Can't let those atheists have any meetings because they might be planning a world-wide takeover right T-Town?

WHAT A CROCK MAN! You, sir, need to get a grip on reality.

+ 2 Rating Posted by: talessman at Apr 28, 2008 at 11:58:14 AM
I'm spiritual but non-religious. Meaning I'm not Athiest, I'm not Christian, nor any other religious belief. (And yes, I DO see Athiesm as a *kind* of religion because Athiests are religiously anti-religion). In high school I even helped stand up for a before school prayer group, who was told to stop praying on school grounds.

That said, it seems to me that this man (Jeremy) is NOT trying to cause disruption, nor is he trying to force Christians out of the military. He only wants to be treated fairly and not discriminated against BECAUSE he is athiest.

Let's put it this way: If a Christian soldier sued because his Athiest unit wouldn't allow him to pray, and it always forced him to recite mottos that went against his beliefs, wouldn't he have a right to sue?

So why shouldn't this man have the same right, just because he's athiest?

Thomas Lessman
Website: Thomas Lessman, Citizen - Advocate - Activist
Blog: Neighborhood Watch Watch
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+ 4 Rating Posted by: bluesguy at Apr 28, 2008 at 01:52:21 PM
As a Christian and an USAF brat (dad was in for 22 years and retired full bird Col.) I think Jeremy has the right to assemble with other like minded folks, even while he serves in the military. Especially while in the military.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Who said there were no atheists in fox holes?

This is just another example of atheist not fitting in. Reading the comments upset me.

Like this guy
Please?!? Go to a church and cont how many times homosexuals are trashed. and Atheist for that matter. Secularist.

And its atheist that are the problem?

It sux that it has come to this. But i grew up in army basis and i dont doubt for a second that what he said is absalutly true.

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I think this is absolutely ridiculous. Not once in 19 years have I ever seen anyone harassed because they didn't believe in God. At least not by the chain of command. Sure, some soldiers probably gave him a hard time. Of course we don't know the whole story, but I'm confident that had he mentioned this to his chain of command, and his allegations had merit, more than likely they would have done something about it. Especially in this day and age. I've seen both sides of this, those of faith being mocked, etc by athiests, and athiests being mocked, etc by those with faith. Normally it's done in good clean fun, where both sides are doing their fair share of the mocking. And most of the time, those people giving the athiests the hard time weren't even religious, they were just looking for someone to mess with. Most men can get over that and move on. Of course, we all handle things differently, so if he had a problem with it I'm confident that it would have been resolved if he would have followed military policy like he should have done in the first place. As for him trying to hold meetings. This is almost laughable. First you have to ask why would he hold meetings? What was his intent? I'm guessing it had nothing to do with fellowshipping with his fellow non-believers, and everything to do with protest. Which, in my opinion, is contrary to good order and discipline. I've seen similar incidents where a person has aked for permission (in writing, we call these special request chits) to do things that they know in advance would be disapproved. Why would they go through the trouble then? To cause hate and discontent. Contrary to popular belief, the military is not a democracy, and the very freedoms that we serve to defend don't always apply to us. I remember a time when a guy put in a leave request for Christmas, but he knew full well that we had to stand watch on Christmas. Of course the Command said no. He knew they would, but he just wanted something in writing to show everyone how much the Navy sucked.
This post didn't say whether or not he tried to get permission to hold meetings, or if he did them covertly. If either way applies, he made a mistake. He should have just gotten together with his fellow athiests during chow. If someone asked them what was going on, he could have said, "we're having athiest church, wanna join?". I'm sure the person asking would have laughed, said no, and walked away. There might of been a you're nuts, something like that thrown in there, but he wouldn't have been denied his "meeting".
To me, he handled all of this the wrong way, and was not in keeping with the spirt of the US Army.

BTW Malrenalds, I've been to Church thousands of times, a Southern Baptist church for that matter, and NOT ONCE have I ever heard homosexuals get bashed. NOT ONCE! I can honestly say that I can't remember of a single instance where it even came up. If I only based my opinion on homosexuality on what I learned in my church, I wouldn't have an opinion on it, I wouldn't have any idea it was even a moral issue. Of course there are some churches who make it a point to call it a sin, but it didn't happen in my church. I only learned that it was an issue with some churches because of the media.
To make a blanket statement about going to church and counting gay bashing is just wrong and overwhelmingly ignorant.

__________________
24 Empty Missile Tubes, A Giant Mushroom Cloud...IT's MILLER TIME!

Are you from the Midwest? How many Churches?

I was a Sunday School Teacher. by age 16. I too was also Involved in the southern baptist church. And that happened at a lot of the churches. more so at the Church of Christ.

All you have to do anymore is turn on Sunday morning TV. You go to a pretty progressive church if you missed it.

And I met no open atheist when living on the 8 Bases I lived on.

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Well, it depends on what denomination of church you go to (they aren't all the same).

But, He is sueing Robert Gates? I don't see what Bob has to do with this? It should be personal harassment against those that did the offending.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Atheism still has a long way to go. But, I think lawsuit against a completely unrelated individual is the wrong way to handle it.

I sympathize with the guy. I was kicked out (cordially disinvited) of the Boy Scouts at age 10...I understand the immense groupthink and pressure to conform from peers. Now that it's out, his fellow soldiers will NOT simply live and let live, either.

As much as I agree with his stance, he broke a code, really. The military is not the place for standing out like a nail, waiting for the hammer. Atheists are still very much in the minority, and seem to forget that many Christians consider the very thought anathema, even dangerous.

If I can suck it up and do the church thing with the inlaws for Easter and Christmas, and play along, so can he. It won't kill him. Acceptance/rights for atheism will be the LAST domino to fall: people are more accepting of any other belief, but a lack OF belief is simply unfathomable.

I don't know. Maybe it's because I am just so tired of fighting upstream that it's easier to just act. It's never been a huge factor for me, nor do I choose to make it one.

But, I do think this guy has just killed his career. Evenif he"wins", his peers will not trust him, and will shun him, which, in the military, is counterproductive.

I somewhat agree. Religion should not be an issue in the military and it should not effect how one is treated while serving the country. But it is and it does, so until it is fixed, they need to not intentionally put themselves in danger or try to turn themselves into martyrs.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

I don't know if that's something that needs "fixing", per se, as intertwined as faith and country is. I've never been in the military, but I just can't see that ever even being addressed. "The Army ain't the problem, son."

This isn't like integrating blacks and whites, or even like dealing with the gay issue. The military is about complete and total immersion into a uniform set of shared values, faith in God being one of them. And, let's face it, our military is now geared towards fighting a terrorist religious enemy: anything less than total committment to Christianity is going to be viewed with suspicion.

In fact, I have read a few articles about the Air Force Academy becoming hardcore Evangelical Fundamentalist, and the higher-ups pretending to stop it.

People joining the military need to understand the full implications of what they are signing up for.

Ta least not? Is it never or never by a superior?

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We are not fighting their religion. Since Christianity has no effect what so ever on whether or not we succede in our goals in Iraq, I doubt that it is considered so important that, "anything less than total committment to Christianity is going to be viewed with suspicion."

My brother in law is over there right now and he's not a christian. When he came home for a short while between deployments this last Thanksgiving, he never mentioned anything in regards to religious baises over there and he's a real complainer. I'll ask him when he comes back though.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides