Religious Contempt Among Americans May Foreshadow Actions Overseas

By Dan Ivers
Opinion Editor

The very words "radical fundamentalism" undoubtedly produce many
similar thoughts and images in the minds of the average American. It
is generally associated with Islam, terrorism and much of the
struggle we face in our current war in Iraq and larger war on terror.
However, a story that has recently emerged from the Middle East
changes the face of that dirty phrase. Army specialist Jeremy Hall
has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. military, alleging he was the
target of harassment by his superiors and fellow soldiers regarding
his atheist views. He also alleges that he was sent home from Iraq
after filing complaints, as well as that he was blocked from being
promoted because of his views and threatened by other soldiers and
superiors to the point where the Army had to assign him a bodyguard.

While none of Hall's claims have been substantiated, they don't seem
that far out of the box. It's not hard to cast the war in a Christian-
versus-Muslim light, and the original post-9/11 rhetoric from
President Bush and many other politicians suggested just that (Bush
even called it a "crusade," which he apologized for later). While
this has been toned down severely, it's not difficult to imagine that
a certain number of recruits may be motivated by religious reasons;
they may be there to fight for "God and country," in the truest
sense. These concerns are even more serious when you consider just
who we will let in the military these days (seemingly anybody,
including those with violent criminal histories).

The military has vehemently denied Hall's accusations, and the
Constitution clearly states that no one can be denied a position of
employment based on faith, which presumably extends to a lack
thereof. However, reactions to atheism can be severe, and it's not
always observed as being under the umbrella of religions to be
tolerated. Atheists are seen as morally lost by many who will
tolerate your difference of faith from their own, provided that you
do claim to adhere to some religious set of morals. A 2006 University
of Minnesota survey found that atheists were the least-trusted group
in America, below Muslims, homosexuals and recent immigrants. They
also got the lowest ratings when people were asked whether they
thought a group "shared their vision of America." I'm sure many were
surprised to hear that there even was an atheist soldier, as
stereotypes would hold that they are unpatriotic.

Many atheists do not openly espouse their views for fear of being
ostracized (hence the popularity of non-offensive terms
like "agnostic" and all the cop-outs you hear, like "I'm spiritual,
just not religious," or "I just don't like organized religion.").
Someone like Hall is brave to announce his religious philosophy,
although he has admitted that it took a long time for him to
comfortable with it. His attorney —Mikey Weinstein of the Military
Religious Freedom Foundation and an Air Force veteran who also served
in the Reagan White House has seen thousands of similar incidents
over the years. He will publish a book titled "With God on Our Side:
One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military"
later this year.

After 9/11, America enjoyed a sense of unity against a common cause,
and most backed our efforts to fight in the Middle East. However,
this was very short-lived, and clearly discrimination and
divisiveness are back with a vengeance. There's no doubt that our
soldiers are patriotic, for they put their lives on the line for our
country; but it shouldn't be only for their vision of our country,
and they shouldn't be out there fighting a neo-crusade against any
non-Christian, whether Muslim, Atheist or any other denomination.
Like it or not, soldiers are ambassadors, and this kind of conduct
against one of their own doesn't speak well for how they might treat
Iraqis or Afghanis. Terrorists are often called radical
fundamentalists because of their extreme adherence to their religion
and their lack of tolerance for anyone who will not show the same
adherence. Incidents like the ones raised by Jeremy Hall show that
this might not just be their holy war, but ours, too.

Furthermore, atheists have the same right to not believe as anyone
else to subscribe to their religion, yet it's still somewhat socially
acceptable to hate them. Atheists may be without a god, but they are
not universally without morals. Unfortunately, they are shunned and
are fairly poorly organized, so they have almost no one to fight for
the respect and tolerance granted to other religions. It's not hard
to imagine how an Islamic terrorist would react to someone who says
they are godless, but apparently a lot of soldiers—and Americans—
wouldn't feel too differently.