JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — Like hundreds of young men joining the Army in recent years, Jeremy Hall professes a desire to serve his country while it fights terrorism.

But the short and soft-spoken specialist is at the center of a legal controversy. He has filed a lawsuit alleging he’s been harassed and his constitutional rights have been violated because he doesn’t believe in God. The suit names Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

“I’m not in it for cash,” Hall said. “I want no one else to go what I went through.”

Known as “the atheist guy,” Hall has been called immoral, a devil worshipper and — just as severe to some soldiers — gay, none of which, he says, is true. Hall even drove fellow soldiers to church in Iraq and paused while they prayed before meals.

Written by: Jacki McMaster

When I was an infant, my parents had me baptized. They didn’t want to, but my Grandmother insisted. They agreed to her wishes, because neither of them was very for or against religion.

My mother was raised Christian, Methodist to be specific. The church never felt like home to her. She always told me, “It’s silly to think that you have to go to a specific place once a week to worship God. And it’s even sillier that they make you pay to do it. God is in everything around you. Appreciating the world is prayer enough.”

My father, on the other hand, was raised Jewish. His father was a non-practicing Christian, but his mother attended synagogue regularly and decided to raise her 3 children accordingly. When my father was 12 years old, he decided that he was not going to have his Bar Mitzvah. He didn’t believe in what he was learning, and didn’t want to put in the time and effort necessary to learn the required tasks. His mother was not happy, but allowed him to make his own decision.

We have setup our own instant messenger server just for our Ministers, called A-Chat.
This way you can communicate between each other, the staff, and friends on other networks easily.

The A-Chat network allows you to add your AIM, GoogleTalk, Yahoo, ICQ, MSN, and Gadu accounts, that way you only need one client to talk to everyone!
If you use the suggested free Psi messenger client, simply go to “service discovery”, right click the service you want to add and click register. provide your login credentials, hit save and your done. All your buddies will show up in the list.

If you are a Minister at the FCA you already have a username on our A-Chat Instant Messenger service for FREE. We suggest using the free IM client: Psi but we do offer a WebClient if you don’t want to install anything.

Is this really free?

Yes, becoming ordained with the First Church of Atheism is entirely free of charge.

Why is this free?

We believe that everyone should have the right to preach what they believe, to start a congregation, and to perform ceremonies. This is usually reserved for members of traditional religious sects. We have started a church of our own, based on our beliefs, and will provide our service of ordainment free to anyone who shares our beliefs.

Will I be a minister in the eyes of the law?

Yes, you will be a legally ordained minister. You will be able to perform every task that a clergy member can perform.

How do I prove I am an ordained minister?

Visit the store to purchase an Ordainment Certificate, which comes with a free identification card.

This is where atheists around the world can find an atheist minister to perform their wedding, or any other ceremony. The price for services is negotiated between the individual parties, but the average fee is $150US.

Australia

• Melbourne

  • Rev. John Botha - Melbourne

Canada

• British Columbia

  • Rev. Sidney Schneider - Vancouver

• Ontario

  • Rev. Kelin Nott - Toronto

China

• Beijing

  • Rev. John Scott Johnson

Switzerland

• Montreux

  • Rev. Andrei Placinta

United Kingdom

• West Yorkshire

  • Rev. Simon Rochell

United States

• Alabama

  • Rev. James G. Artis - Albertville

• Arizona

  • Rev. Rebecca T. Barber - Mesa

• California

  • Rev. Amir Karkouti - San Diego

• Colorado

  • Rev. Jessica Sideways - Denver

• Connecticut

  • Rev. Keith Culkin - Southbury

• Florida

  • Rev. Alexander McMaster - St.Petersburg

• Georgia

  • Rev. Reginald V. Finley Sr. - Atlanta
  • Rev. Michael Wideman - Statesboro
  • Rev. Per Kok Jensen - Warrenton

Click on “Ordain Me” to be legally ordained at the FCA. It should only take a few minutes to receive your confirmation by email. If you don’t recieve an email in 24 hours, contact us using the info below.Once your ordained don’t forget to sign up for A-Chat, our free Instant Messenger service! Click here for details(log in first).

If you have any questions or comments
Email us at: Staff@FirstChurchofAtheism.com

Or
Call us at: (215)701-4898

Share on Facebook