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Atheist Cop Sues, Claiming He Was Demoted to Washing Cars for Refusing to Pray on the Job

Mar. 11, 2013 12:06pm Billy Hallowell

An atheist cop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is suing his superiors after he says they demoted him for refusing to participate in compulsory prayer. Alvin Marrero-Mendez, a 14-year veteran, claims he was reassigned to washing cars and that he lost his weapon after declining prayer participation on the job, the Examiner reports.

Mendez, 38, filed his complaint on March 8. In it, he alleged that his superiors engaged in explicitly-religious activities during meetings. The most contentious portion of the legal document centers upon the accusation that Mendez was asked to give a prayer in front of his fellow officers.When he refused, he was allegedly forced to stand in front of the officers, while a superior mocked him for his rejection of the Christian faith.

According to the AP, supervisors yelled, ”He is standing there because he doesn’t believe in what we believe in,” while Mendez was placed in front of his fellow officers to be shamed for his refusal to embrace prayer. It was after he complained that the officer charges that he was demoted and had his gun taken away.

Alvin Marrero Mendez Sues, Claims Puerto Rican Police Authorities Punished Him Over Prayer Refusal

Photo Credit: Shutter Stock

Considering Puerto Rico’s deep Christian roots, this is one of the first cases of its kind in the U.S. territory. The lawsuit (read it here), filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Puerto Rico and the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, specifically targets Mendez’s police chief and three supervisors.

“Plaintiff is an open atheist, and as such, does not subscribe to the Christian faith or any other religious doctrine,” the lawsuit reads. “He values his right to adopt no religious beliefs as much as others surely value their right to follow a particular faith.”

The ACLU is hoping to achieve two goals in launching the case — to get a court ruling driving home the notion that forced prayer in the workplace violates the separation of church and state (a value clearly highlighted in Puerto Rico’s constitution) and to halt the workplace retaliation purportedly being waged against the officer.

While Mendez’s complaints, should they be substantiated, are certainly troubling to church-state separatists, they are nothing new. According to the ACLU’s local director William Ramirez, this is simply the latest example — and one that will now clearly be making its way through the courts.

“This has always been a problem in Puerto Rico,” Ramirez said in an interview with the AP. “It’s very divisive and it’s unconstitutional. … Government is sending a message, ‘This is what we believe, and we believe you should be believing.’”

Featured Image: ShutterStock.com.

(H/T: Examiner)

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Comments (132)

DamoclesAurelius
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:03pm
Too bad Puerto Rico is a territory and not a state, and so doesn’t have the same protections.

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- SamIamTwo
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:07pm
  One would think that Obama would liberate them…then it def would be a down hill race for PR.
  
  Report this comment
- turkey13
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:59pm
  First you must prove he is an Athiest. They are as rare as Edsel dealers. A true Athiest will name a son Judis and a daugher will be named Jesibell.
  
  Report this comment
- Atrum Angelis
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:16pm
  Why would an atheist name there kid Judas? He was pivotal in Jesus’ story, and did nothing more that God’s work. God needed Jesus to die for the salvation of mankind, and Judas was there to help that come into being. As God willed. The bad reputation he has among Christians is something I’ll never understand, where the only thing he did against God was commit suicide, which was after he walked the path laid out for him.
  I you want to go the “Atheist is evil” road, wouldn’t they name their kids Satan? But then, they’d have to believe in him too.
  
  *And because I can see the counter already – “The devil’s greatest accomplishment was making men believe he doesn’t exist.” Or he did nothing. Because he doesn’t exist.
  
  Report this comment
- softunderbelly
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:33pm
  Washing cars and not getting shot at and STILL collecting a cop’s salary? Why complain?
  
  Report this comment
searching for the Truth
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:03pm
” Pilotage ” is a well known term in aviation – without it we have no known point of reference ( other than mechanical gauges) whereby one can land a plane smoothly, or fly it , for that matter. In reference to morality, one has no ” point of reference ” without an Absolute Law Giver; therefore, one has no absolute moral law that one can guide themselves in life to make valid moral decisions. Without an Absolute moral law and a Absolute Law Giver, one bases laws around what makes life easier for themselves and not others. The Nazi’s ” Final solution ” was a prime example, of what happens when one maneuvers around the Absolute Law Giver.

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- vashli19
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:17pm
  @ searching
  I disagree respectfully. There are plenty of examples of what we consider moral behavior (sharing, defense of another at risk to one’s self, justice and fairness to name a few) regardless of what god you pray to or if you don’t believe in one at all. There are some core moralities that we all share as humans. A perfect example that fairness transcends any “creator’ or “law giver” would be Matthew 7:12, the spirit of which exists in almost every major religious text.
  However there are other morals or laws in scripture that most Christians and all Americans have rejected as immoral. In Ephesians 6:5, slaves are told, “obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling”. If this is the inerrant word of god, why do we now consider slavery as immoral while considering Matthew 7:12 as evidence of god’s moral superiority.
  Leading a moral life does not require a supernatural “law giver”, I am fairly certain that pre-Mosaic societies had just as much a problem with murdering, stealing and adultry and considered them wrong long before the story of the 10 commandments. This is an interesting discussion, but you should not be so quick to dismiss those who do not share your beliefs because there is a good chance we may share most of your morals.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 5:27pm
  God has demands for men that make others slaves, and that demand is to treat them fairly. Man has always been disobedient . If man had done what God demanded ( by His Law ), then the slaves would have been just as powerful as their masters. God provides Universals that men are suppose to abide by. I see no difference in the indenture of ” welfare,” other than man’s failure to embrace God as their Master. God demanded that all slaves be set free every seven years with all their possessions and acquisitions.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 5:41pm
  And, it didn’t matter how much debt they were in.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 5:55pm
  Just one other thing – the Scriptures you reference to are subject to the Universals of time – in those days one could only survive by subsistence farming or apprenticeship to survive. So, many had to bond themselves out to be ” servants.” Regardless, God’s law ruled the day – if they were obedient, that is.
  
  Report this comment
- alinmatt
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:05pm
  @searching…
  As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly. Leviticus 25: 44-46
  The 7 year rule only applied to Israelite slaves. All others were subject to a life of demeaning and ruthless slavery and could be beaten to death as long as they didn’t die from it in the first day.
  
  Report this comment
- alinmatt
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:17pm
  Also, check out Hammurabi’s Code. The story of how Hammurabi came up with the laws is amazingly similar to the Moses story, except Hammurabi lived several hundred years before Moses. Some of Moses’ laws are verbatim copies of Hammurabi’s. Some of them are strange laws too, like punishing the owner of an ox that gores someone. When an oddball law like that is said to come to Moses from God, yet is a verbatim copy of one of Hammurabi’s laws, it makes a person wonder.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:22pm
  Again, if one wanted to remain a slave to a master , he was to place his head against their door and their ear would be pierced with a awl – thereby , they would ( and, the slave knew ) remain a slave to the household.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:25pm
  Your gonna need to be on the same page – but, you have not yet acquired enough knowledge. And, you need to use the King James. But, other than that, you are arguing with someone who has spoken with both entities.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:28pm
  Furthermore, the masters, still , by Moses law , had to free them if they so did choose.
  
  Report this comment
- alinmatt
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:44pm
  @searching, King James version or not, that passage from Leviticus remains the same. There is also others, but all I need is one. The thing about piercing an ear as a willing bond servant applied only to the Israelite’s. Non Israelite slaves could be kept permanently, regardless of their will.
  
  Report this comment
- alinmatt
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:50pm
  My point was that not all slaves were to be freed in the year of Jubilee, only the Israelites had to be. A master had free will to do so with others, but was not required to. I was commenting on your last comment about setting them free in the seventh year. As far as my Hammurabi comments, it was to illustrate that the laws of Moses that supposedly came from God could easily be attributed to Hammurabi and his multitude of gods. I was backing up the other guy’s claim on here that many cultures and religions have laws of morality that are similar to one another.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:51pm
  The freeing of the slaves applied to all slaves.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:54pm
  Those willing to accept God were adopted into a Tribe – as all who are of God’s Kingdom.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:56pm
  Moses, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul said, ” Let every word be approved by two or three witnesses.”
  
  Report this comment
- alinmatt
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:02pm
  You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. Leviticus
  I don’t know how to make it anymore clear than that.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:04pm
  That is an apt description of a Lemming that can either stop at the ledge or dive over it – you decide to dive over it.
  
  Report this comment
- Locked
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 10:17pm
  @searching
  
  “The freeing of the slaves applied to all slaves.”
  
  Er… no. Alinmatt is quite right only male Israelite slaves who willingly entered slavery could be freed after 7 years. If they did so, they could not take their wives and children with them. If you want to argue with Alinmatt on a Scriptural basis, you may want to provide a reference to the passages you’re talking about rather than just saying he”s wrong. He has already provided Biblical quotes backing up his facts. Where are yours?
  
  I’d recommend just rereading your Bible however, because what you’re saying is wrong.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 10:50am
  ” Every Israelite, male or maid, who had become a slave might be redeemed at any time by relatives. If not thus redeemed he was bound to receive his freedom without payment after six years ‘ service, with a present of cattle and fruits ( Exod. 21:2 ; Deut. 15:12-15 ) . Adoption into a Tribe – the Book of Ruth.
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 11:16am
  ” Thou Shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” and, ” Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart , and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” ” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” St. Matthew 22:37,39,&40. King James. Two witnesses provided, however, Moses did not make it to the Promised land for the Jews. ” Atheist only smell the rotten eggs and never find any Good Ones.”
  
  Report this comment
- searching for the Truth
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 11:24am
  The Blaze has started to mess with my typing so I’m not going to prove the Word anymore with you guy’s since you obviously don’t love the Word enough to care.
  
  Report this comment
shorelineliz
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:01pm
ANTITHEISM
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:09pm
You’re insane. The personal computer, the windows operating system, mac os (some of which you are surely using to type your comment) were all the result of at least one agnostic/atheist (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Linus Torvalds) working along with christians.

@AntiTheism:
Bill Gates grew up in the Congregational Church and married a Roman Catholic. There is a lot of difference between agnosticism and atheism.

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- YesLiberalsAreThatDumb
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:45pm
  “You’re insane” is a personal attack, can’t we all just have a discussion without resorting to personal attacks? ROTFL!
  
  Report this comment
- qualityrkc
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 5:03pm
  As an agnostic I can promise you there is not a huge difference between atheists and agnostics. Agnostics are just a little more honest about not being able to really know whether a god exists or not. Atheists believe the burden of proof is on believers. We both share the central idea that we do not believe in gods which is fundamentally very similar and not different as you said.
  
  Report this comment
shorelineliz
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:53pm
Locked said:
@Liz

As a Christian I’d never tell someone to NOT pray on behalf of someone else. I would recommend that you look up the “Great Prayer Experiment” (aka “Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP)”) for an experiment that came out with the exact opposite result as the one you listed. This experiment ran a double-blind study on over 1800 patients, and is considered the most comprehensive study on intercessory prayer to date.

@ Locked:
this article up above, that I am responding to, is about the THIN SKINNED nature of Atheists. Nothing more. What is up with a little prayer that an Athiest has to complain about? I mean gag me! Give me a break! If someone wants to pray then just let them! Cover your ears! The guy in Puerto Rico is just insane! This crap is getting so out of hand. Everywhere. Next thing you know when the Christmas Pageant comes around in my town the Atheists will be protesting with signs that say, “Stop Forcing Your Non Existent Fantasy of Jesus-Mary-Joseph on Our Town” or some ridiculous crap like that. I can’t wait for my town’s Easter Parade and the Atheists that will protest with signs that say, “Jesus is Not a Real Person and Crucifixion Was Never Practiced in the Middle East” and then I can post my sign that says: “Saudi Arabia to Crucify Jewel Thieves.”

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- Locked
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:12pm
  @Liz
  
  “this article up above, that I am responding to, is about the THIN SKINNED nature of Atheists. Nothing more”
  
  I’m not sure why you’re saying this, as you devoted an entire post to quoting CNN on how a study from pre-2000 showed that prayer helped improve patients by 11%. I responded with a much more comprehensive study that showed the exact opposite: that prayer either did not help, or may have caused a worse outcome.
  
  “What is up with a little prayer that an Athiest has to complain about? I mean gag me! Give me a break! If someone wants to pray then just let them! Cover your ears! The guy in Puerto Rico is just insane!”
  
  Your reaction would be the same if your employer ordered you on your knees 5 times a day to pray to Mecca? Then mocked you in front of your coworkers for refusing to do so? And then demoted you after 14 years on the job when you filed a complaint?
  
  If you read the article, you would you know are grossly misinterpreting the situation here. The problem was not “a little prayer;” it was mocking and demoting a veteran officer supposedly for refusing to pray when ordered to do so.
  
  Report this comment
- JediKnight
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 4:19pm
  They went above and beyond asking him to pray when they pulled him up front and mocked him. If he doesn’t want to pray, he shouldn’t have to pray. I can of course think of no better way to get someone to convert then to mock them (sarcasm intended).
  
  Report this comment
- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:06pm
  If he is being demoted for not praying – this isn’t being think skinned – it’s discrimination and it is wrong.
  
  Report this comment
- DLV
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 3:44am
  Locked is right Shorelinz you clearly didn’t read the article. I’m quite disgusted with this “christian” behavior. That being said, it is important to get both sides of the story and I’m not making any true judgments until we hear the police chief’s side. The Elizabeth Hasselbeck story actually turns out to be false and it seems she is staying because the Blaze didn’t get the other side of the story. Two lessons here.
  
  1. Don’t hear what you only want to hear.
  
  2. Don’t jump to conclusions. You’ll make yourself look like a fool.
  
  Report this comment
shorelineliz
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:48pm
SEARCHER619 said:
shorelineliz:
I have seen a few scientific studies which showed “prayer” does seem to help the one being prayed for. BUT it seems you get the same result from a group simply sending the person or thing “good thoughts.” This in no way validates religion. It just means there’s more we still do not know or understand. There is still so much we do not know or understand about the world we live in and reality in general.”

@ Searcher:
what’s the big deal about a little prayer? Huh? what are people sooo afraid of? If God does NOT exist then what is a prayer but someone’s words to an imaginary being? What is so awful about that, huh? Or so THREATENING. You Atheists are so THREATENED by a prayer to a non existent God. and why? Have you ever, ever asked yourselves that? Huh? Huh? Why don’t you just give it a dam rest okay? If somebody wants to pray in your Almighty Presence, just cover your ears and pretend it is not happening, okay? People in the United State/aka, Puerto Rico, have a right to pray and you Atheists have a right to cover your ears and forget about it and just STOP complaining and whining about it. It’s just so pathetic! Lame!

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- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:05pm
  Why should anyone be forced into a religious activity? This is wrong and you know it
  
  Report this comment
Locked
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:18pm
Obviously we’re only hearing one side of the story – it will be up to the court to decide the validity of it. But if this is true, I certainly hope the officer wins his case.

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- YesLiberalsAreThatDumb
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:49pm
  Uhh.. what court? The court of Puerto Rico?
  
  How is Puerto Rico different than Guam? They are both islands, they are both territories…
  
  Report this comment
- Locked
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:13pm
  @Yeslib
  
  The judicial court system of Puerto Rico. You realize that Puerto Rico has its own Supreme Court, right? Or that the Constitution of Puerto Rico specifically states: “No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. There shall be complete separation of church and state.”
  
  “How is Puerto Rico different than Guam? They are both islands, they are both territories…”
  
  And they aren’t some random, lawless island we’re talking about. They are territories with established judicial systems based in no small part upon many of the laws set up by the US.
  
  As for another difference, Guam has no birds and a ton of snakes. It took some getting used to when I was there. But Guam is completely unrelated to this topic, so imagine you’re simply trolling.
  
  Report this comment
DeavonReye
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:10pm
Shorelineliz, . . . why are you being so agressive here? What with all the:

“No. He is just a whiny little biatch. As all Atheists are. Thin skinned.

You are a first rate fool. thin skinned. Whiny

You Atheists are all the same. YOU are a bunch of Narcissistic bA$tards. Say a little prayer in your presence and it is “sue! Sue! Sue”. Thin skinned biatches. All of you.

Why are all these ridiculous Atheists so against prayer? What a bunch of dumba$$es to come out against a little prayer. What are they soooo afraid of, huh? It’s just a prayer. And if a Higher Power does not exist, then what is the big deal? Whiny little biatches!”

Read the article! It wasn’t about him “being offended that someone else was praying”. They wanted HIM to say a prayer. He refused. That is entirely different! So if you can calm the filthy religious tone of yours a bit, maybe we can have a decent conversation here.

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- Rayblue
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:43pm
  Don’t forget the headlights…
  
  Report this comment
- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:45pm
  Why don’t YOU read the comments by all the Atheists and direct YOUR aggression toward them? I am simply answering their comments. Why don’t YOU read? MInd your beeswax!
  
  Report this comment
- DeavonReye
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:55pm
  liz, I don’t care what others have said. Your personal attacks are absurd. Say something, if you must. I’m not even a believer and I post MUCH fewer “curse words” than you. Most of the time, I don’t need them to make a point.
  
  BTW, I’m not at all being agressive. I just wish people would discuss topics without all the unnecessary personal attacks. Don’t you think so, too?
  
  Report this comment
- Rayblue
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:59pm
  Missed a spot.
  
  Report this comment
- DLV
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 3:46am
  Drye is spot on and Liz you’re not helping the christian image here. But like I said above no one should be jumping to conclusions just because we heard one side. I’d like to hear the rest.
  
  Report this comment
mcsledge
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:00pm
No one should be forced to worship or perform acts that they do not believe in.

At the same time, no one should have to work with a partner that is godless and does not rely on a higher power for protection and guidance.

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- antitheism
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:09pm
  You’re insane. The personal computer, the windows operating system, mac os (some of which you are surely using to type your comment) were all the result of at least one agnostic/atheist (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Linus Torvalds) working along with christians.
  
  Report this comment
- WarMunger_Al
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:17pm
  who cares what technology was designed or created by the spiritually barren?
  
  Report this comment
- mcsledge
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:49pm
  antitheism – You may want to learn to read. I said ‘protection’…… and you pop off on technology. Yes, technology threatens lives on a daily basis. I hope that your working on that ignorance issue.
  
  Report this comment
- Rayblue
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:56pm
  Gadgets created are the result of the created.
  So there…
  
  Report this comment
Beachmastermax
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:57pm
My Lord is a gentleman. The Author of freedom, Creator of free volition. He does not ever coerce someone to worship him.

Any man that does use coersion in his name, uses it in vain and will come under his discipline.

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- tmbell87
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:38pm
  Except for all those parts in the old testament where he massacres droves of people for worshiping false idols. Nowadays, we’re just threatened with hellfire and eternal damnation if we don’t believe. Yes sir, there is no coercion at all.
  
  Report this comment
thibx
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:56pm
i don’t believe a word he says. he probably has never done his job and it caught up with him. maybe he should pray to get back where he was.

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shorelineliz
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:55pm
BALDINGEAGLE1776
Shore, why are they against prayer? Why are you against gays? I have a brilliant idea: people should mind their own effing business and just deal with themselves. Bunch of nosey mthrfkers up in here.

@Bald:
Why are you so insistent that MY tax dollars pay for your sexual recklessness? That ONLY thing I have against gays is the fact that MY tax dollars will pay under Obamacare for their eternal HIV/AIDS treatments, HPV virus induced cervical cancer and CHRONIC Chlamydia in lesbians and so forth. I will stop my RANT about gays and their sexual irresponsibility when I don’t have to have my TAX DOLLARS THIEVED under OBama CARe to Pay for it okay? Until then, IT is my Mother F N business cause through TAXES I am paying for it. And for a bunch of other HETEROSEXUALS who want Abortions and Birth Control as well. I don’t want to PAY for a dam thing for ANY of you okay? Just PAy for yourself. If you want to be SEXUALLY irresponsible and get a bunch of diseases then go ahead. But I sure as Sh%t ain’t paying for it. YOu guys never OWN UP to what others are paying for. And the gay/lesbian/bi/transgender community is getting FREE sex changes under Obamacare. WE the PEOPLE are paying for it all. Through our taxes. I will shut the F up when you guys start paying for all your sh%t yourself. Until then. It is my MF business.

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- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:11pm
  FYI: Let’s not forget under Obamacare all the “rehab” for alcohol and drugs you guys consume. And your “counseling” because you are all so “bullied, misunderstood, and picked on.” FREE SEX CHANGES. NO gay person HAS to be a victim of anything. Your sexual recklessness resulting in DISEASE/STD/AIDS/HIV/HPV combined with your wanton consumption of alcohol and drugs and YOUR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE statistics which are KNOWN will all be paid by WE the People under Obamacare. Who exactly is getting victimized here? Who exactly is getting BILKED out of their money?
  
  Report this comment
- tmbell87
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:09pm
  @Liz,
  With that logic, it is as much my business whenever you choose to stuff your face with a Big Mac or a soft drink over 16 oz. Better yet, I should also have knowledge of all of your extracurricular activities in case you might do something that could possibly endanger yourself and I would have to end up footing the bill. There are exponentially more healthcare costs associated with tobacco use and obesity than HIV, so if it’s costs you’re concerned about then you should be just adamant to ban everything that could end up in higher health costs and not just unprotected gay sex.
  
  Better yet, instead of arguing over the finer points of the lie that is Obamacare, why aren’t you pushing to get rid of all gov’t healthcare assistance. Because you’re right, we shouldn’t have to pay for the actions of others. But your argument is so incredible flawed when you limit your concern to the promiscuous actions of a relatively small minority group. This makes me wonder if you like the notion of Obamacare and the gov’t taking care of you as long as the money to do so doesn’t also support things you don’t agree with. If you are a true conservative that wants the gov’t in your life as little as possible, then your political positions need to be universal and consistent. As soon as you start making exceptions to the rule, you are no better than the RINOs and Liberals.
  
  Report this comment
- U4eeeahhh
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 8:11am
  Around the rest of the industrialized nations, universal healthcare is provided for all their citizens. Why should Americans be less well provided for because of a few of your prejudices?
  
  Regardless of personal choices, all Americans do deserve full universal healthcare. Ever heard the phrase, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”? That means that if rampant fornication is your path to Happiness, it is your right to make that choice and it is the duty of citizens to protect your right to pursue that course. Having healthcare provided is just a way to make people freer. Free of the burdens of worry and poor health.
  
  Report this comment
searcher619
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:53pm
FTA:
“According to the AP, supervisors yelled, ”He is standing there because he doesn’t believe in what we believe in,” while Mendez was placed in front of his fellow officers to be shamed for his refusal to embrace prayer. It was after he complained that the officer charges that he was demoted and had his gun taken away.”

If this in fact did happen then all involved need to be fired. That being said, I have a hard time buying that anyone in a position of responsibility would be THAT stupid.

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Verceofreason
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:52pm
American Taliban.
When “christians do it, it’s OK, but when muslims do it – it’s disgusting.

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- MCON29
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:04pm
  Its not okay when anyone does it, but with that said. When Christians start publicy chopping peoples heads off because they dont believe, then you can compare us to muslims. You are an idiot.
  
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- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:06pm
  American Atheists:
  
  Whenever a “prayer” is offered up in THEIR Almighty Presence they scream, “Sue! Sue! Sue Somebody! My rights are being violated! I FEEELLLL so violated! Sue! Sue! Sue somebody! I had a right violated!”
  
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- searcher619
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:08pm
  When you have a credible report of Christians beheading non-believers and punishing women who DARE to fight back during a rape or attempted THEN we can talk. I’m not religious but it’s pretty damned clear that mainstream Christianity is incredibly far more tolerant that of people of different faiths and those of no faith that Islam is as it’s practiced in the middle east.
  
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- Verceofreason
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:39pm
  Tell it to the gay community.
  
  Report this comment
- SamIamTwo
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:06pm
  OP you know that is a far reach, dontcha? Have you compared the absolutes of the two religions??? Silliness abounds.
  
  Report this comment
- tmbell87
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 9:30pm
  @Searcher,
  So what are you saying? That because their bigotry (assuming it’s true in the first place) should be tolerated because at least they aren’t beheading people and raping women? So as long as Christians don’t cross THAT line then they are in good standing and whatever else happens should just be overlooked or downplayed? Gee, I wonder if by turning a blind eye to small transgressions that it could/would ever lead to larger transgressions.
  
  The level of tolerance that Christianity shows as a whole in comparison to other religions is irrelevant. Simply saying that their brand of evil is less nefarious than others does not make their actions good or even ok. We can’t control what other nations do or how they go about administering “justice”, but we can make damn sure that we don’t tolerate that kind of crap here at home or within our territories.
  
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shorelineliz
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:49pm
CNN Health

But a few scientists have taken a further step Theyre trying to find out if you can help strangers by praying for them without their knowledge.
A recent, controversial study of cardiac patients conducted at St. Lukes Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, concludes that this type of prayer known as intercessory prayer may indeed make a difference. Prayer may be an effective adjunct to standard medical care, says cardiac researcher William Harris, Ph.D., who headed the St. Lukes study. The study was published in the October 25, 1999 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Harris and team examined the health outcomes of nearly 1,000 newly admitted heart patients at St. Lukes. The patients, who all had serious cardiac conditions, were randomly assigned to two groups. Half received daily prayer for four weeks from five volunteers who believed in God and in the healing power of prayer. The other half received no prayer in conjunction with the study.
The volunteers were all Christians. The participants were not told they were in a study. The people praying were given only the first names of their patients and never visited the hospital. They were instructed to pray for the patients daily for a speedy recovery with no complications.
Using a lengthy list of events that could happen to cardiac patients such as chest pains, pneumonia, infection, and death Harris concluded that the group receiving prayers fared 11 percent better than the group that didn’t.

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- searcher619
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:57pm
  shorelineliz:
  
  I have seen a few scientific studies which showed “prayer” does seem to help the one being prayed for. BUT it seems you get the same result from a group simply sending the person or thing “good thoughts.” This in no way validates religion. It just means there’s more we still do not know or understand. There is still so much we do not know or understand about the world we live in and reality in general.
  
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- IslandAtheist
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:00pm
  Two hands working are more powerfull than a million clasped in prayer.
  
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- searcher619
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:11pm
  IslandAtheist:
  
  While this may be true, would you support preventing people who want to pray for someone from doing so? I see no problem with allowing people to pray for someone. It does no harm.
  
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- Locked
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:30pm
  @Liz
  
  As a Christian I’d never tell someone to NOT pray on behalf of someone else. I would recommend that you look up the “Great Prayer Experiment” (aka “Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP)”) for an experiment that came out with the exact opposite result as the one you listed. This experiment ran a double-blind study on over 1800 patients, and is considered the most comprehensive study on intercessory prayer to date.
  
  As Christians we are called to pray for others – but prayer should never be a substitute for actual action (this idea reminds me of the story of the man waiting for divine intervention in a flood who refuses to be helped by his neighbors, a rescue boat, and a rescue helicopter). In reference to this article, the officer was well within his rights to pray (or not pray) personally for protection; but prayer is no substitute for proper training and equipment, nor should it be forced upon an individual by his employer.
  
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- Rayblue
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:12pm
  @islandath…two hands working…
  That’s a slow witted atheist axiom if I ever heard one.
  So by definition, one hand working is as powerful as a half a million hands in prayer.
  So no hands working is as powerful as…..well, you figure it out.
  
  Report this comment
IslandAtheist
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:42pm
That police force sounds like Newt Ginrich.

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- searcher619
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:58pm
  You are assuming this guy is telling the truth.
  
  Report this comment
DaveChurch
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:42pm
There a faiths that will chop of your head for that. Any guesses which one?

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- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:44pm
  I’m sure it is Christianity. And, of course, it is all Bush’s fault.
  
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antitheism
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:30pm
How completely backwards that someone should be ridiculed for refusing to plead to a supposed god who supposedly has its own plan already written in stone.

Two hands hard at work are infinitely more powerful than a billion clasped in prayer.

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- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:45pm
  You are a first rate fool. thin skinned. Whiny
  
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- searcher619
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:02pm
  How do you know this guy is telling the truth? More often than not disgruntled employees are caught in lies in complaints like this. Now, knowing how devout the majority of Hispanics are I don’t think it’s all that farfetched but we really need to wait till we know the facts. I would HOPE people placed in supervisory and/and managerial positions wold know better than to behave like this or allow this kind of behavior.
  
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UBETHECHANGE
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:27pm
His he a lying disgruntled employee?

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- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:34pm
  No. He is just a whiny little biatch. As all Atheists are. Thin skinned.
  
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- Atrum Angelis
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:02pm
  You can pray all you want around me. Even at work. Just don’t ask me to pray.
  
  Besides, would you want a non-believer leading your prayer?
  
  Report this comment
john vincent
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:26pm
Just read his case-

Seems he has one-
Command an atheist to pray?? For what purpose? to whom?

I did not read anything about a poor work performance. If I was the judge, I would put the alleged ‘christians’ on trial for stupidity- To be fair, there is yet a voice to be heard to justify Mendez’s demotion, his being 14 years deep in the job doesn’t help them either, but if this suit is accurate, this should be a slam dunk.

One cannot legislate spirituality-

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- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:35pm
  Give it an “f” and “n” rest would ya? It’s just a little prayer. what are YOU so afraid of? Just bow your head and act like someone else has “rights” too. thin skinned.
  
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- searcher619
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:44pm
  Show us the proof he has of being FORCED to pry and then getting demoted. Funny thing about court is that actual proof is required.
  
  Report this comment
- tmbell87
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 7:59pm
  @Searcher,
  
  Exactly! Which is why a LAWSUIT was filed you dolt! As it stands now, we don’t actually know anything, only what is alleged by the claimant. This is why this lawsuit will undergo the judicial process to determine the very thing you’re asking for, the truth. As you stated before in another post, this could all very well be made up. But regardless of what the true facts are, the allegations are very serious and even Christians should be concerned about this. If the allegations turn out to be true and the cop was mocked, chastised, ostracized, and demoted for his non belief, would you stand by his side and declare that to be wrong? I would. But then again, I would also find myself standing in defense of Christianity if the allegations turn out to be false. Speaking as an atheist, I care far more about the truth and principle than stupid point scoring on either theological side. The freedom of religion and expression are about much more than your belief to say what you want and own your faith. I would argue that more importantly, it is about defending those very freedoms of others that do not coincide with yours.
  
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BaldingEagle1776
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:22pm
Ooh, nothing Blazers like more than a good old fashion atheist story! Well, maybe a Farrakhan story. Too funny, you guys.

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- MCON29
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:30pm
  No one disagrees that if he was FORCED to pray on the job and demoted because he didnt’t than its wrong and unconstitutional. You are an idiot.
  
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- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:36pm
  Wrong Again
  
  I dont think he should be able to sue.
  However it is not right to impose your religion on others. Free will has a reason and a purpose.
  Anyone who forces another to pray to thier god is no different than islamic extremism. Also they are in no way following the words of Jesus.
  
  That being said they should be able to pray anywhere they wish without people being cry babies.
  
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- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:37pm
  oh my rights! Oh my rights! They are being sooo violated! Oh my rights! Someone said a “prayer” out loud in MY presence! OH my rights! Oh my rights! I fEEEEL so violated! OH who can I sue? Where is the ACLU? The Southern Poverty Law Center? Oh my rights! My rights!
  
  You Atheists are all the same. YOU are a bunch of Narcissistic bA$tards. Say a little prayer in your presence and it is “sue! Sue! Sue”. Thin skinned biatches. All of you.
  
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- MCON29
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:47pm
  @OldSurfRat
  
  Key word being FORCED. If hes just whining because they were praying and he felt left out or uncomfortable. Too bad. Its their right to pray all they want.
  
  Report this comment
- Locked
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:44pm
  @oldsurfrat
  
  “I dont think he should be able to sue.
  However it is not right to impose your religion on others.”
  
  I’m curious how you reconcile these two ideas. If he was forced to pray, but you don’t think he should be able to take his complaint to the courts in a lawsuit, what recourse does he have to remedy the situation?
  
  Or is it that you think forcing someone to pray is “not right,” but should still be “legal?”
  
  Just curious where you stand, thanks :-)
  
  Report this comment
- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:29pm
  Locked
  
  Thanks for your polite question. I get beat up around here because I do not always subscribe to most churches point of view.
  That is why I no longer attend. Found a lot of Hypocrisy in every church that I have ever attended. I got much more out of a one on one with God.
  
  I’m tiered of people being sue happy. If he was forced, as in made to do it by fear of harm coming to him then that to me is forced and would be a criminal matter due to the fear of harm.
  
  I believe the following.
  
  1) I don’t believe in a job being a right. If you don’t like the job or what and who comes with it leave.
  If I don’t like the uniform leave.
  If I don’t like the policies leave.
  If I don’t like the politics leave
  If I don’t like the pay leave.
  If I don’t like to pray leave etc.
  
  2) We are not supposed to force anyone to come to the cross. We can if we choose, spread our knowledge of our belief. However demanding that they do so is not in line with Jesus and his teaching. As for me I do not have stickers on my car proclaiming my faith because I have bad days and act as a bad rep if you will.
  The way I read it we need to want to follow because it’s our love that is wanted not our obedience. That’s not to say we should not try to be obedient. Just not force others. As we are not forced by the big guy.
  This is a moral issue that should not be a legal issue as in up to the courts to decide. For that I will refer back to #1.
  
  Just how I read it and how I
  
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- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 2:36pm
  MCON
  I agree completly. Forced needs to be defined as in fear of harm.
  
  I have no problem with prayer in schools etc. Just not telling a kid he has to or there will be repercussion. Law suits are for serious issuses and not for people that think they have had a non-right such a s job position interfered with. As you said TOO BAD.
  
  BTW that goes the same in my company doors. If you don’t like it find another job because I built it and it’s my way or the highway. The only right you have is to be paid for your work.
  
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- Locked
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 3:16pm
  @Oldsurfrat
  
  And thank you for the polite reply. I completely understand your feelings on hypocrisy in many denominations; I’m very lucky I’ve found a church that holds pastors as equals and encourages biblical study and questions; I hope you find something similar! I also echo your feelings on the over-litigiousness of the world today.
  
  Have a great day, and God bless!
  
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- U4eeeahhh
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 8:29am
  @ OldSurfRat. Your view of workers’ rights is about a century old. Workers do have the right to expect fair and legal treatment in the workplace. To require a worker to pray and to discipline the employee for failure to comply would violate the 1964 Civil Right Act.
  
  Workers in America have fewer protections, fewer benefits, less vacation time and lower pay than in any other industrialized nation. Why? In a large part because we waste trillions on unnecessary military spending.
  
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SamIamTwo
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:19pm
Puerto Rico should be a state, maybe.

I lived there in the late 50′s. Ramey AFB.

Anyhoo, we all have our problems.

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Mandors
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:18pm
Someone who doesn’t believe in anything shouldn’t be on the job.

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- BaldingEagle1776
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:23pm
  How very fascist of you!
  
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- Winedude
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:29pm
  NONSENSE! He does believe in something. He’s smart enough to realize that praying to some mythical being is a colossal waste of time. He cannot be compelled to pray and should be returned to his previous position at previous pay, plus something extra for his troubles. The boss here is a blatant idiot!
  
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- antitheism
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:32pm
  @eagle
  What do you expect? Fundamentalism and fascism go hand in hand.
  
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- shorelineliz
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:33pm
  Exactly! I don’t want a cop who doesn’t believe in anything. How is he going to protect me? And, what is the big deal about prayer anyway? Why are all these ridiculous Atheists so against prayer? What a bunch of dumba$$es to come out against a little prayer. What are they soooo afraid of, huh? It’s just a prayer. And if a Higher Power does not exist, then what is the big deal? Whiny little biatches!
  
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- BaldingEagle1776
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:41pm
  Shore, why are they against prayer? Why are you against gays? I have a brilliant idea: people should mind their own effing business and just deal with themselves. Bunch of nosey mthrfkers up in here.
  
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- Verceofreason
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:56pm
  I believe
  you are a moron.
  
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- searcher619
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:05pm
  Yeah because that means they can’t enforce the laws they were hired to enforce… You have any idea how stupid you sound? Law enforcement does not require you to have any faith in any religion to enforce laws.
  
  Report this comment
shorelineliz
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:17pm
Oh. It’s just Puerto Rico. They don’t count. Any person, cop or not, in the deeply religious Puerto Rico, who doesn’t pray, deserves an a$$ whooping. YOu have to be nuts to be an Atheist there.

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- Obama Snake Oil Co
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:31pm
  Sort of like an Iman running for the position of Pope in Rome….this ain’t going to turn out well.
  
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drattastic
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:15pm
I was going to call BS on this story till I read it was in Puerto Rico . The opposite would be true here on the mainland the officer would be demoted for trying to pray.

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- RaydocX
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:25pm
  i did the same thing.
  there is zero way that story would be valid here.
  and it shouldn’t be… the moment government demands that you pray they are stepping beyond the boundary of the separation clause.
  
  unfortunately, ACLU and activist judges have stretched that boundary in the opposite direction, pretending the clause prevents recognition of religious holidays, public demonstration of religious material, etc.
  
  and it’s hurting the country… instead of arguing to have ‘under God’ removed from the pledge of allegiance, as was the case before the ’50′s or so i am told, ACLU simply coerced American government and educational boards into removing the pledge… seems innocuous, but when you recite that pledge daily for nine months of the year over 7 or 12 years, it’s a daily reminder that the world is bigger than you are, and that you have duties and obligations to the country that provides you with freedom and security.
  
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- U4eeeahhh
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 8:59am
  @Raydocx, I’m 60, I’m a forth generation Atheist. My father, his father and my great grandfather too were Freethinkers, what we call Atheists today. My ancestors came to America 150 years ago to be free to NOT believe. The “under God” was added to the Pledge shortly after I was born, I have never said those words. I’ve always deleted the words, as I got older I just avoided any situation where pledges and prayers were offered, now I just leave the room or come late. The very reason that I dislike the Pledge is a reminder that there is indeed a big world out there and unquestioning non-critical patriotism is not something I respect or find value in.
  
  Did you know that groups of Swedish and German Freethinkers immigrated to America and the Texas Hill Country in the mid 1850s and formed townships where no churches were allowed inside the town borders? Comfort, Texas founded in 1854 had no church until 1900.
  
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MCON29
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:15pm
Is the ACLU also sueing for seperation of church and state with the Koran passges in the teachings of CSCOPE curicullum? Didnt think so!!

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- BaldingEagle1776
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:24pm
  Yes, as a matter of fact they are.
  
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- MCON29
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:15pm
  As a matter of fact, THEY ARE NOT. Show me where you found this info? I see nothing on it.
  
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- BaldingEagle1776
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:19pm
  I’m supposed to do YOUR research for you? You are that inept at the internet? Wow.
  
  Report this comment
- Rayblue
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 4:37pm
  Yeah. Do his research for him. It’ll be just like washing a car.
  Which I bet you’re good at.
  
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- MCON29
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 5:29pm
  You cant research something that doesnt exist. So no I dont expect you to show me anything.
  
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