The Air Force has announced that they will no longer require anyone to say “so help me God” when they enlist or renew their services to the armed forces.

The move comes in response to an atheist who said he would not say that part of the oath when re-enlisting.

“The Air Force will be updating the instructions for both enlisted and commissioned Airmen to reflect these changes in the coming weeks, but the policy change is effective now,” read an Air Force press release. “Airmen who choose to omit the words ‘So help me God’ from enlistment and officer appointment oaths may do so.”

The atheist threatened a lawsuit because he was told he could not re-enlist if he did not say the oath as written.  He had scratched out the phrase from his enlistment papers and would not say it when given the oral oath.

The anti-Christian American Humanist Organization had offered to represent the airman in suing the Air Force.

“We take any instance in which airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said. “We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure our Airmen’s rights are protected.”