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Military being sued for religious discrimination and harassment

It’s the military, not Jesus Camp!!

As if serving in the military isn’t hard enough, evangelicals try to force their religion on their subordinates. In 2005, new Air Force Academy rules went into effect after cadets complained that evangelical Christian officers proselytized on campus.

Jeremy Hall is an Army specialist, a US soldier in Iraq. He was raised Baptist by his grandmother in Richlands, N.C. He said he joined the Army “to make something of myself.” As a Christian, Jeremy said, “I thought going to Iraq was right because we had God on our side.”  In the summer of 2005, after his first deployment to Iraq, Specialist Hall began to read the Bible more closely, which bred doubts that deepened over time. He expanded his world view by conversing with others with a variety of views. “There are so many religions in the world,” he said. “Everyone thinks he’s right. Who is right? Even people who are Christians think other Christians are wrong.” Quietly, he became an atheist, that’s when his trouble started.

Hall began receiving threats from his superiors. When Hall held a meeting for a chapter of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers in Tikrit, Iraq, superior officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them. A sergeant who, without provocation, threatened to “bust him in the mouth.” Another sergeant allegedly told Specialist Hall that as an atheist, he was not entitled to religious freedom. He was called immoral, devil-worshiper, gay - none of which was true. Hall believes his promotion to sergeant has been blocked because of his lawsuit

Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers.

Mike Weinstein, a retired Air Force judge advocate general and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said he has been contacted by more than 5,500 service members and military families about incidents of religious discrimination.

 NYT 
CNN