An atheist is reportedly taking the US Navy to court after it rejected his application to be a chaplain.
Jason Heap filed suit on Wednesday with the support of the Humanist Society, Stars and Stripes magazine reports.
The former youth minister claims the military unfairly dismissed his application because he does not adhere to a traditional religion.
The lawsuit claims his constitutional rights were violated and states not only that he should be accepted as a humanist chaplain in the US Navy, but that the Humanist Society should also become an official endorsing agent for humanist chaplains.
If his application had been successful, Heap would have become the military's first humanist chaplain.
He told the LA Times previously that he didn't apply to become a humanist chaplain to make a point or bring attention to himself but to serve members of the military who like himself do not believe in God.
"As both a humanist and a scholar of religion, I have a deep knowledge and understanding of world religions," Heap said.
"My purpose and focus as a chaplain will be for holistic well-being of anyone who is in need of pastoral care."
According to the LA Times, humanism is not on the Pentagon list of the 81 religions represented by the nearly 3,000 chaplains serving in the US military, but the list of those represented does include "unknown" and "no religious preference".
However the Texas Christian University graduate was informed in May that his application had been rejected by the Navy.
Rep John Fleming was among those to oppose atheist chaplains, saying: "The notion of an atheist chaplain is nonsensical - it's an oxymoron. It's absurd to argue that someone with no spiritual inclination should fill that role."
But Heap is ready to challenge this all the way.
The lawsuit reads: "As a result of the Navy's decision to deny Dr. Heap's application, there are no Humanist chaplains in the US Navy or in any branch of the armed services. The absence of even a single Humanist chaplain impairs the religious exercise of Humanists in the Navy."
