KANSAS CITY , Kansas ( CNN ) -- Army Spc . Jeremy Hall was raised Baptist . Army Spc . Jeremy Hall , who was raised Baptist but is now an atheist , says the military violated his religious freedom . Like many Christians , he said grace before dinner and read the Bible before bed . Four years ago when he was deployed to Iraq , he packed his Bible so he would feel closer to God . He served two tours of duty in Iraq and has a near perfect record . But somewhere between the tours , something changed . Hall , now 23 , said he no longer believes in God , fate , luck or anything supernatural . Hall said he met some atheists who suggested he read the Bible again . After doing so , he said he had so many unanswered questions that he decided to become an atheist . His sudden lack of faith , he said , cost him his military career and put his life at risk . Hall said his life was threatened by other troops and the military assigned a full-time bodyguard to protect him out of fear for his safety . Watch why Hall says his lack of faith almost got him killed » . In March , Hall filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates , among others . In the suit , Hall claims his rights to religious freedom under the First Amendment were violated and suggests that the United States military has become a Christian organization . `` I think it 's utterly and totally wrong . Unconstitutional , '' Hall said . Hall said there is a pattern of discrimination against non-Christians in the military . Two years ago on Thanksgiving Day , after refusing to pray at his table , Hall said he was told to go sit somewhere else . In another incident , when he was nearly killed during an attack on his Humvee , he said another soldier asked him , `` Do you believe in Jesus now ? '' Hall is n't seeking compensation in his lawsuit -- just the guarantee of religious freedom in the military . Eventually , Hall was sent home early from Iraq and later returned to Fort Riley in Junction City , Kansas , to complete his tour of duty . He also said he missed out on promotions because he is an atheist . `` I was told because I ca n't put my personal beliefs aside and pray with troops I would n't make a good leader , '' Hall said . Michael Weinstein , a retired senior Air Force officer and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation , is suing along with Hall . Weinstein said he 's been contacted by more than 8,000 members of the military , almost all of them complaining of pressure to embrace evangelical Christianity . `` Our Pentagon , our Pentacostalgon , is refusing to realize that when you put the uniform on , there 's only one religious faith : patriotism , '' Weinstein said . Religious discrimination is a violation of the First Amendment and is also against military policy . The Pentagon refused to discuss specifics of Hall 's case -- citing the litigation . But Deputy Undersecretary Bill Carr said complaints of evangelizing are `` relatively rare . '' He also said the Pentagon is not pushing one faith among troops . `` If an atheist chose to follow their convictions , absolutely that 's acceptable , '' said Carr . `` And that 's a point of religious accommodation in department policy , one may hold whatever faith , or may hold no faith . '' Weinstein said he does n't buy it and points to a promotional video by a group called Christian Embassy . The video , which shows U.S. generals in uniform , was shot inside the Pentagon . The generals were subsequently reprimanded . Another group , the Officers ' Christian Fellowship , has representatives on nearly all military bases worldwide . Its vision , which is spelled out on the organization 's Web site , reads , `` A spiritually transformed military , with ambassadors for Christ in uniform empowered by the Holy Spirit . '' Weinstein has a different interpretation . `` Their purpose is to have Christian officers exercise Biblical leadership to raise up a godly army , '' he says . But Carr said the military 's position is clear . `` Proselytizing or advancing a religious conviction is not what the nation would have us do and it 's not what the military does , '' Carr said . The U.S. Justice Department is expected to respond to Hall 's lawsuit this week . In the meantime , he continues to work in the military police unit at Fort Riley and plans to leave as soon as his tour of duty expires next year .
Army Spc . Jeremy Hall was raised Baptist but is now an atheist . His sudden lack of faith cost him his military career and put his life at risk , he says . Hall sued the Defense Department ; claims military is a Christian organization . Comment: Complaints about evangelizing are `` relatively rare ''