An ongoing lawsuit that claims the US military isn’t willing to take appropriate action in cases of religious discrimination and is overly lax in allowing certain groups of Christians to proselytize imprisoned Muslims, has been expanded to include charges of a pervasive bias toward evangelical Christianity in the Armed Forces.
Dustin Chalker, a Kansas based soldier is one of the parties that brought the suit:
Chalker, a combat medic, is an atheist whose original complaints included being forced to attend military formations where Christian prayers were given. The foundation, based in Albuquerque, N.M., says it represents about 11,000 military personnel, almost all of them Christians upset about what they view as discrimination by more conservative and evangelical personnel.
“Our amended complaint is specifically designed to further stab at the throbbing unconstitutional heart of darkness that comprises the systemic fundamentalist Christianity so pervasive and pernicious in today’s American armed forces,” said Mikey Weinstein, the foundation’s president.
Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said the agency doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits. But she said it has identified fewer than 50 complaints about alleged violations of religious freedoms during the past three years, with 1.4 million personnel in uniform.
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