U.S. Marine briefly arrested for not attending "all faiths" religious service

The following is sent in by David Z. - A former Marine Corps NCO. My contributions are clearly marked.

Boot Camp's "Optional" Religious Service

July, 7th 1998 I went to Marine Corps Basic Training in San Diego, CA.  Shortly after being assigned to Platoon 1103 and meeting our Drill Instructors, the first Sunday of my enlistment rolled around.  We sat in one of the theaters and listened to a Chaplain speak, telling us that they offered services for almost any form of religion and that after he was finished we were to get in line for our appropriate religion.  He also said that there was a non-denominational group that would discuss our relationship with god.  Lastly he said that we did not have to attend any church services if we did not want to.

I looked for the "not attending church" line, but could not find it.  I was instead ordered to line up in the non-denominational line.

I sounded off, "Sir, This Recruit requests permission to not attend church services, Sir!"

Another platoon's Drill Instructor interrogated and berated me for quite some time as I continued to respond with that phrase. Finally he gave in and took me back to the barracks where my Drill Instructor did the same.  Eventually he too gave in and put me to work cleaning different areas of the barracks.

My Senior Drill Instructor (a church choir singer and devout christian) was then informed.  He attempted the interrogation and berating, having the same effect.  Later he had both a private and a public "Hats off" more polite conversation urging me to attend church services.  Again I sounded off with the phrase that became my mantra.  "Sir, This Recruit requests permission to not attend church services, Sir!"  He then seemed to want nothing to do with me since I wouldn't "Do this for him."

At least he stopped trying to force me to go.

***Justin Griffith here - I simply have to reply to this before moving on. This same theme has been virtually universal across all services and all stories that I've heard from fellow atheists. It certainly happened to me too. There are two choices we can make when faced with this in boot camp.

1) Clean up and get yelled at every week - a punishment for not believing in god.  2) Go to a religious service and tune it out.

I tried both. I was not allowed to write letters, sleep, or even sit down. If for even one second I wasn't actively cleaning, the Drill Sergeants would throw sand across the (freshly) waxed floor, or otherwise punish me. They get really creative. I was a special case because just before graduation, I was seriously injured. This extended my stay from the standard 9 weeks to a grueling 30-something weeks long.

I eventually chose to go to the religious service that was farthest away. There were two that I could take a bus across post, lengthening the total time away to 2-3 hours. The two choices were Mormon and Spanish Protestant. Many of the Mormons had bulging pockets with their garments ('magic underwear' in harsh terms).

I chose the Spanish one because it all seemed like gibberish anyway. It was funny actually, because I met a few others who were doing the exact same thing as me, and we all sat in the back. The entire service was in Spanish and none of us in the back row spoke the language.

We got to dance around to the peculiar Spanish church songs. We heard the excited and rapid-fire babbling in a foreign tongue. Every once in a while a very loud voice from across the room would say "Si, SENIOR!" And we would all laugh like a bastard, but quietly enough not to alert the people around us.

Okay, back to David Z.'s letter
*** 
ARRESTED for not going to "all-faiths" religious service.

After basic I had another run in.  I was in Marine Combat training (that is where they send the POGs before MOS school).

Some grunt corporal was in charge of us and ordered us to line up for an "all faiths" religious service.  I told the corporal that I would be unable to attend because the service could not possibly include my "faith."

He then asked what my religion was.  To avoid outing myself, I said it was a secret. He and the other boots had a laugh as he said, "I thought the point of a religion was to try to convert everyone to it."

I guess he didn't pick up on the hints that I wasn't a christian.

He ordered me to get in line again.  I disobeyed and went to sit on my pack until the service was over.  He came back very pissed. He arrested me (not that I think he had the authority to) for disobeying a direct order.  He even Mirandized me.

I saw him discussing this with some other Marines and eventually he came back and told me to return to my platoon.  I assume he was informed that his order was unlawful, and he could not take action against me for it.

***End of David's Letter***

That's pretty intense.

I'd like to thank David for sharing this experience. I hope it opens people's eyes to the reality that many (most?) of us experience as atheists in the U.S. Military. Notice: He did not back down. He was right. He kept his cool despite injustice. He eventually 'won' his right to not participate in religious services.

This whole situation underscores a point that people really need to understand. From day one, we learn to be scared, defensive, and protective of our rights. As you can see, David was pretty ballsy and consistent - yet he still felt at one point that he did not want to tell his peers / superiors that he was an atheist.

Somehow the word atheist paints targets on our backs. Be it for more proselytism, or even for threats of violence - the atmosphere of fear is instilled at the very beginning.

Note: David has at least one more story coming out here in the next few days, and it's pretty crazy. I've had quite a few people send in stories- good, bad, and ugly. Please keep them coming, and please remind me if you've already sent something and I never got back to you. David had to. (sorry about that - this deployment is pretty unpredictable.)