What does it say about religion when it is forced upon people? Does one really “believe in their maker” or have “faith”, if they’re under a constant threat of retaliation of some sort?

What does it say about our military, an organization created to protect our “separation of church and state” country, that refuses to practice the same laws of the land?

Is religion so fragile that, without the threat of personal harm on people, it would crumble and whither away? Is faith really faith if a gun is pointed at the back of your head?

Fort Riley atheist soldier speaks out on lawsuit

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) — 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’s been harassed and his constitutional rights have been violated because he doesn’t believe in God. The suit names Defense Secretary Robert Gates. [...]

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. [...]

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