He says he was forced to participate in public paryers and that the military violates reliious freedoms of its personnel.

In the lawsuit, Spc. Dustin Chalker, a combat medic with an engineering battalion, alleges he was required to attend three events from December 2007 to May 2008 at Fort Riley in which Christian prayers were delivered.

Chalker has served in Iraq and Korea.

The lawsuit also alleges the military allows religious discrimination by fundamentalist Christians who try to force their views on others, especially subordinates.

Its examples include programs for soldiers, presentations by “anti-Muslim activists” and a “spiritual handbook” for soldiers endorsed by Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East.

This is the second lawsuit filed recently by an atheist.

The complaint, filed in US District Court in Kansas City, by the nonprofit Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), on behalf of Jeremy Hall, an Army specialist currently on active duty in Speicher, Iraq, alleges that Hall's First Amendment rights were violated beginning last Thanksgiving when, because of his atheist beliefs, he declined to participate in a Christian prayer ceremony commemorating the holiday.

"Immediately after plaintiff made it known he would decline to join hands and pray, he was confronted, in the presence of other military personnel, by the senior ranking ... staff sergeant who asked plaintiff why he did not want to pray, whereupon plaintiff explained because he is an atheist," says the lawsuit, a copy of which was provided to Truthout. "The staff sergeant asked plaintiff what an atheist is and plaintiff responded it meant that he (plaintiff) did not believe in God. This response caused the staff sergeant to tell plaintiff that he would have to sit elsewhere for the Thanksgiving dinner. Nonetheless, plaintiff sat at the table in silence and finished his meal."

Moreover, the complaint alleges that on August 7, when Hall received permission by an Army chaplain to organize a meeting of other soldiers who shared his atheist beliefs, his supervisor, Army Major Paul Welborne, broke up the gathering and threatened to retaliate against the soldier by charging him with violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The complaint also alleges that Welborne vowed to block Hall's reenlistment in the Army if the atheist group continued to meet - a violation of Hall's First Amendment rights under the Constitution. Welborne is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

I have to say, I also don't like the Hold Hands and Pray that some people like to do. I dont have any problem at all if people that all know each other want to do it, but if I go somewhere that isn't a religious occasion, per se, and everybody wants to hold hands and pray, AND I Don'T, I feel extremely awkward and resentful. For example, one time I was at a volunteer organization where someone wanted to say a prayer for an ailing member, and asked for everyone to join hands and pray. I didn't want to, but I felt on the spot and joined hands. Afterwards, I was a little angry that I had even been put in that position at all. This wasn't church. When I have prayed before, I believe in the scripture that says not to do as the hypocrites do but do it privately. If people want to pray before a meal, that's fine. But why should I have to hold hands with everyone around the table while they pray? And if I decline, that really is awkward, because it puts me OUT of a circle.