Atheist cadet resigns U.S. Military Academy in protest

Blake Page is an atheist who for almost the last four years has attended the U.S. Military Academy or more simply, West Point. He has resigned before he received his commission in protest of the discrimination that atheists have received. For example, Page was denied recognization for an organization for fellow atheists/agnostics. Page writes:

I have been in a position to hear countless cadets recount their personal stories of frustration in dealing with the ongoing oppressive and unconstitutional bigotry they face for being non-religious. Cadets often come to me to seek assistance, guidance and reassurance in response to instances of debasing harassment. Many here are regularly told they do not deserve a place in the military. They are shown through policy that the Constitution guarantees their freedom of, but not from religion. Many are publically chastised for seeking out a community of likeminded people because it is such a common belief that Humanism and other non-religious philosophies are inherently immoral and worse. It is pathetic that so many leaders in the military are comfortable with both subtly and brutally discriminating against non-religious members.

It's unfortunate it takes acts like this to get the pro-theocratic bent of many military leaders, get noticed. By the way, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is an organization that works to ensure Christian fundamentalism is not favored in the military.

In a related story, the American Humanist Association (which I can say I am a proud member) wrote letters urging incoming new members of Congress not to join the Congressional Prayer Caucus. This Caucus, which is almost completely Republican in membership, supports entangling the government and religion as much as possible. They want prayer at governmental meetings, religious displays on governmental land and are basically just a watered down version of the Mullahs of Iran who run that nation's government.

Fox News called the AMA, "extremist" for utilizing their rights as citizens of our nation, to petition their government on an issue important to them. Fox News though never knew a humanist/atheist that it wouldn't attack, except maybe the few atheists who are apologists for the Christian right-wing agenda. We need more atheists in the halls of Congress, but unfortunately we get theocrats instead.