California Atheist wins 2 million dollar lawsuit after being sent to jail for objecting to faith based drug rehab program.

Barry A. Hazle Jr.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

A California atheist has won a settlement of nearly $2 million after being sent to jail on a parole violation for objections he made about participating in a faith-based rehab program. 

Barry A. Hazle Jr., 46, served time for a conviction of methamphetamine possession in 2007. As a condition of his parole, he was enrolled in a drug treatment program where participants were required to acknowledge a "higher power," according to the Sacramento Bee. 

Hazle complained and asked for a different treatment program, but was told the only option in his area was the faith-based, Westcare 12-step program, according to the Record Searchlight. 

Hazle was sent back to jail for more than three months for allegedly being “disruptive, though in a congenial way, to the staff as well as other students" and being "sort of passive-aggressive,” the paper reported. 

"I’m thrilled to finally have this case settled," Hazle told the Searchlight. "It sends a clear message to people in a position of authority, like my parole agent, for example, that they not mandate religious programming for their parolees, and for anyone else, for that matter."

This may seem like a small thing, but it is actually a rather significant victory for Atheists. 

Religious organizations discovered long ago that proselytizing to people when they were at their most vulnerable had a much higher success rate for conversion then simply going door to door, having potlucks, or hosting bingo.

That is why there are so many religious based therapy groups, substance abuse clinics, and prison programs. They know that people struggling to stay afloat in a sea of adversity will cling to any lifeline thrown their way.

So yeah winning the right to be excluded, without fear of incarceration, from organizations which really only substitute one crutch for another, is kind of a big deal.