Recently, I was asked to sign a petition that was being mailed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, D.C. The petition claimed that Madalyn Murray O’Hair of the American Atheist Center in Austin, Texas was trying to have all religious broadcasting removed from the airways of America. Apparently this petition is being circulated widely, and many people are signing it. Is there any truth to the suggestion that Mrs. O’Hair has asked the FCC to prevent religious broadcasting in this country?
A.
The petition described above has been distributed in religious circles for years. It seems to lay dormant for a time, and then suddenly resurfaces. When it does, a new generation of Bible believers once again takes it seriously, and reacts with pent-up emotion upon learning that the world’s most famous atheist, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, supposedly has attempted to prohibit religious broadcasting in the same way she successfully prohibited “school prayer” in the 1960s. The story accompanying the petition goes something like this:
Madalyn Murray O’Hair, an atheist whose efforts successfully eliminated the use of Bible reading and prayer from all public schools 15 years ago has been granted a Federal hearing in Washington, D.C. on the subject (FCC Petition R.M.-2493) which would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the Gospel on the airways of America. She took her petition, with 27,000 signatures to back her. If her attempt is successful (as her last one was), then all Sunday worship services being broadcast, either by radio or television, will be stopped. Many elderly people and shut-ins, as well as those recuperating from hospitalization or illness, depend on radio and television to fulfill their worship needs every week. Madalyn is also campaigning to remove Christmas programs, Christmas songs, and Christmas carols from public schools. You can help this time. We need one million (1,000,000) signed letters. This should defeat Mrs. O’Hair by showing that there are still many Christians alive, well, and concerned in our country. This petition is #2493. Sign, cut out, and mail the form below. Please do not sign as “Mr.” or “Mrs.,” but sign individually. Let each adult sign one separately and send it in. Be sure to put petition #2493 on the lower left-hand corner of the envelope— this is very important. Send to the Federal Communications Commission, 1919 “M” Street, Washington, D.C. 20054 (see Wade, 1989, 25[40]:2).
There appear to be several different varieties of this petition in circulation. One version asks the signatory to photocopy the petition and send it to a minimum of ten other people, requesting them to do the same. Another version suggests that the signatory take the petition to public meetings (worship services, Rotary Club meetings, etc.) and secure signatures en masse. In other words, the idea is to get as many signatures as possible, as quickly as possible, so those in authority at the FCC might know that Americans will not sit by idly while Mrs. O’Hair tries, single-handedly, to strip religious broadcasting from our televisions and radios. It certainly seems to be working. To date, the FCC has received over 21 million pieces of mail on this one subject alone!
The sad thing is this: the whole thing is a hoax! In 1988, the FCC finally was forced to produce a “Fact Sheet” about this whole scenario, in an effort to explain that there is no such petition before the Commission, and that Mrs. O’Hair never has presented such a petition. The following statements are taken directly from the FCC Fact Sheet, which is in the public domain.
In December, 1974 a petition from Jeremy D. Lansman and Lorenzo W. Milam asked the FCC to inquire, among other subjects, into the operating practices of noncommercial educational broadcasting stations, including those licensed to religious educational organizations. The petitioners also asked that no licenses be granted for any new noncommercial stations until the requested inquiry had been completed. The “Lansman-Milam petition” (which was routinely assigned the number RM-2493) was denied by the FCC on August 1, 1975—over 12 years ago. The Commission explained then that it is required by the 1st Amendment “to observe a stance of neutrality toward religion, acting neither to promote nor to inhibit religion.” It also explained that it must treat religious and secular organizations alike in determining their eligibility for broadcasting channels.
Early in 1975, the FCC began to receive mail which indicated that in many parts of the country there were rumors claiming the petitioners of RM-2493 had called for an end to religious broadcasting and that the Commission was going to prohibit religious programs on radio and television. Such rumors are false. Additional mail and telephone calls came in from people who thought that Mrs. Madalyn Murray O’Hair, a well-known atheist, was a sponsor of RM-2493, or had separately proposed that the FCC consider limiting or banning religious programming, and that she had been granted a federal hearing to discuss this matter. Those rumors are also false.
No federal law or regulation gives the FCC the authority to prohibit radio and television stations from presenting religious programs. The Communications Act (the law that established the FCC and defines its authority) prohibits the Commission from censoring broadcast material and from interfering with freedom of speech in any broadcasting. The Commission cannot direct any broadcaster to present, or refrain from presenting, announcements or programs on religion, and it cannot act as a judge of the wisdom or accuracy of such material. Broadcasters—not the FCC or any other government agency—are responsible for selecting the programming that is aired by their stations.
We hope that the preceding paragraphs will help to correct any and all misinformation about FCC policies on religious broadcasting. Over the past 12 years this agency has received over 21 million pieces of mail on this subject. Every effort has been made to advise the public of the action taken on RM-2493. The laws and the Commission’s policies on broadcast of religious programming have been publicized in newspapers and magazines (including TV Guide and Time), in religious publications, and in meetings of religious groups. Because these false rumors still persist, any assistance you can provide by telling your friends and neighbors what the facts are will be greatly appreciated.
No one has yet determined how this rumor was started. What is apparent, however, is this: as the story was circulated and recirculated, it became even more distorted. What started out as a request by two individuals quickly became a sinister plot on the part of a world-famous atheist to “un-do” first amendment rights. Well-meaning people—who wanted nothing more than to protect these rights—fell victim to a scam of tremendous proportions. Unfounded rumors became the topics of sermons and bulletin articles. The “O’Hair petition” became the subject of discussion at meetings as diverse as women’s garden clubs and national religious conventions. Thousands of dollars, and man-hours, were spent in opposition to “Petition 2493,” while the FCC worked to show the American public it was all for naught.
What lessons might we learn from a fiasco such as this? First, rumors—all rumors—should be investigated. What may appear to be both believable and true, might be, in fact, neither. Second, imagine what might have been accomplished if all the time, money, and energy spent on this rumor had been spent carrying the Gospel to the lost? That’s something to think about, wouldn’t you agree?
Wade, David (1989), “Petition RM-2493,” in Words of Truth (Jasper, AL: Sixth Avenue Church of Christ), 25[40]:2, October 6. In this article, Mr. Wade, as editor of Words of Truth, exposed a false rumor concerning “Petition 2493” that was circulating in the Jasper, Alabama area at the time. He presented the entire text of the FCC “Fact Sheet,” from which I have quoted in the above article. Later, in the April 6, 1990 issue of Words of Truth, Mr. Wade found it necessary to pen a second article on this topic, in which he discussed not only the rumor about this matter supposedly before the FCC, but other unfounded rumors as well. In the second article (“Rumors,” 26[14]:2-3, April 6), he published a copy of one of the petitions being circulated, which interested parties were asked to sign and forward to the FCC. Those desiring additional information may wish to secure copies of these two excellent articles.
[IMPORTANT UPDATE: In 1995, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, along with one of her sons (Jon) and her adopted daughter (Robin, whose biological father was Mrs. O’Hair’s older son, William) met an untimely death by murder at the hands of one of her employees.]
Originally published in Reason and Revelation, May 1991, 11[5]:19-20.
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