Excerpt
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – An atheist soldier suing over prayers at military formations claims a larger pattern of religious discrimination exists in the military, citing attempts to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and an evangelical bias in a suicide prevention manual.
The expanded lawsuit filed Monday by Spc. Dustin Chalker and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation in U.S. District Court in Kansas City also claims the military doesn’t take complaints of religious discrimination seriously enough.
The Defense Department has identified fewer than 50 complaints about alleged violations of religious freedoms during the past three years, with 1.4 million personnel in uniform, spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said.
I have friends in the military, some of whom have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I’ve heard the same thing from them – that there is an overwhelmingly Christian bias in the military. I think that’s a real shame – a Christian *majority* does not make Christian *bias* okay. Our men and women who serve should be able to practice their faith or non-faith of choice, be it Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, or no faith at all. It is the least we can do in return for their service to our country. An atheist soldier is no less valuable or courageous than a Christian one.
I have friends in the military, some of whom have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I’ve heard the same thing from them – that there is an overwhelmingly Christian bias in the military. I think that’s a real shame – a Christian *majority* does not make Christian *bias* okay. Our men and women who serve should be able to practice their faith or non-faith of choice, be it Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, or no faith at all. It is the least we can do in return for their service to our country. An atheist soldier is no less valuable or courageous than a Christian one.