A federal court in Kansas has dismissed a lawsuit by an atheist soldier who claimed his rights were violated because he had to attend events where prayers were said.

Judge Kathryn Vratil ruled on Thursday that Army Spc. Dustin Chalker failed to exhaust other alternatives before he and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed his lawsuit against the Department of Defense in 2008.

Mikey Weinstein, the foundation's president, said Chalker's case shows a pattern of religious intolerance and proselytizing by members of the armed forces.

Chalker evidently sued without taking his complaint up the chain of command.

He plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.