An Army soldier who says his promotion was denied because he is atheist filed a new suit this week against several military leaders.
Spc. Jeremy Hall had attempted to hold a meeting with fellow soldiers last fall during which he planned to discuss atheism and other subjects. When his commanding officers told him he could not hold such a meeting, Hall began legal proceedings against the officers—and was later denied a rank promotion after word got out about the pending lawsuit. According to Hall, one of his superiors told him he could not advance rank because he would likely be “unable to put aside his personal convictions and pray with his troops.”
This week Hall re-filed the lawsuit, adding further allegations not addressed in the first suit.
Naturally the blog world is blowing up about this. Kemal Eren of Spread Rationality writes,
“First of all, no officer should have to pray with his troops, and no troops should have to participate in prayer if they do not want to. Second, religion is not a prerequisite for bonding with anybody. Charisma, confidence, intelligence, and competence should be the prerequisites for potential officers, not religious belief.”
Masala Skeptic of Skepchik wonders if military culture itself fosters an environment that is inherently favorable to Christians:
“In the military, chain of command and obedience to a higher authority is paramount. And following orders without question is key, at least when the fighting starts. Does that sound familiar? Is the real question, do Christians make better soldiers, because they prefer being unquestioning followers of authority?”
I have two points here and a question.
1) I can understand if the soldier was not promoted because he filed a lawsuit. That is, it is perfectly within his rights to file a lawsuit, and I hope he wins, but in filing that lawsuit, it indicates a level of insubordination. If you are a commander, would you want to promote the soldier who files a lawsuit when he doesn’t get his way? Promotion isn’t guaranteed and it isn’t a right that can be denied–it’s a promotion in rank. Plus, the person who told him the promotion was blocked because he wouldn’t pray with his troop was a Sergeant, so I am doubtful if that was the real reason he wasn’t promoted.
2) The blogger you quote seems to have both a dismal and stereotypical view of Christians when she says, “do Christians make better soldiers, because they prefer being unquestioning followers of authority?” Besides being uncharitable towards her opponents, it seems to miss an essential part of faith. Faith is not blind, else it is no longer faith but rather zealotry. And zealots are not Christians, they are merely zealots. To paint atheists with a similar brush would be to ask, “Do Atheists make worse soldiers because they prefer to question every authority?”
3) My Question: In the article that you cite, Spc. Hall says that his constitutional rights to congregate have been infringed upon, but as a soldier, does he still possess these rights? Soldiers are frequently denied their right to free speech under secrecy requirements. Moreover, they are required to follow orders–if the order is to disperse, is it a violation of his rights?
Hey Michael,
Thanks for the comment. I tend to agree with you on your point that it seems logical for the commanding officers to deny a promotion because of the lawsuit Hall filed. It’s tricky, though, to tell which part of the process Hall is trying to attack - is he suing directly because the promotion was denied, or is he suing because of the email that was sent out notifying the whole post about his religious beliefs? His attorneys may have a better case if they focus on the latter, as long as they can demonstrate that the intent behind sending the email was to encourage discrimination.
I think the post from the second blogger was trying to reflect upon the military’s potential rationale for what could be seen as promoting Christian beliefs (rather than directly asserting that they do). She goes on to give the flipside that you brought up: “Do they worry that being an atheist leader means you have more of a tendency to rebel against your authorities and, in turn, not give accurate orders to the troops under your command?”
I agree with you that it would be overly simplistic to assume the military’s inherent values foster a Christian environment rather than an areligious one (or one based on other faiths). I do think it’s interesting, however, to think about how many officers share opinions similar to the sergeant quoted in the article, that Christian belief is a common ground for bonding with fellow troops. Perhaps not, but it’s still something to think about.
I’m not sure about the limits of a soldier’s right to congregate. Spc. Hall references the Army chaplain’s manual in supporting his claim that he has a right to practice his atheist beliefs; I’m sure his stance is something along the lines of equating his “discussion” with a Christian prayer service or something of the like, which would almost certainly be allowed among the troops. Interesting case.
Freddy’s myspace
myspace.com/freddywelborn
You can see his side of the story…
He’s the “officer” who broke up the meeting of Military Association of Atheists and Free Thinkers (MAAF) that Jeremy was attempting to hold. (Approved by the base Chaplain BTW)