Today, we’re celebrating the life and legacy of American Atheists’ founder, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, who was born 103 years ago on April 13, 1919.
A fierce advocate for the rights of atheists, Madalyn became best known as America’s most vocal opponent of mandatory prayer in schools. She took this fight all the way to the Supreme Court and in 1963, the Court’s decision in Abington School District v. Schempp cemented the removal of mandatory prayer and Bible readings in federally-funded public schools.
“Once involved in the school-prayer fight, I rapidly became aware of, and appalled by, the political and economic power of the Church in America—all based on the violation of one of our nation’s canon laws: the separation of church and state,” she said.
Her victory came at a great cost. Her family was ostracized and threatened in their community, and after a series of moves, Madalyn founded American Atheists. Today we’re still dedicated to fighting back against oppression and attacks on both church-state separation and individual atheists.
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2 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.The case is MURRAY v Curlett and all her life she trained us Atheists to fight defacto theocracy at every turn .... our Atheism has been celebrated every April since 1970 with our American Atheists National Conventions uniting Atheists Rationalists Secularists from around the world ....she shares the birth anniversary with Thomas Jefferson 1st to pen the words : " erect a wall separating church and state " 1803 writing to Danbury baptists complaining of Presbyterian favoritism by the remnant colonies .... Dr MMEO'H JD was kidnapped by an Atheist staff member along with Jon & Robin at gunpoint taken to SanAntonio held for ransom extorted from Jon.... all 3 were beheaded and Robin repeatedly raped .... Austin police protected the privacy of the brutal felony convict and Dr O'Hair caught her future kidnapper stealing 56 thou$and dollars from the monthly office expense account..... court orders forced the Austin police criminals to confess their illegal protection of David Watters murder extortion record in Tennessee.... he killed a guy in a barfight and brutally beat his own mommy for money....thousands of us loyal Atheists knew these facts in the months before the 1995 kidnapping Texas cops NEVER investigated and a lone newspaperman solved the kidnapping case leading to the confession by Watters dying of cancer led the FBI to the burial site of Atheism's First Family far west of SanAntonio .... fake news that for decades protected rapist priests from American Atheists expose' efforts NEVER reported these crimes against Jon his mom and her adopted granddaughter Robin child sired by her fake preacher bad bribed son William Murray III
GreenAtheist
Level 8
May 29, 2022
2
I think (read the link) that she was killed by her own son.
This monument to her (called a "Plinth"?) is in Florida.
Robecology
Level 9
Apr 13, 2022
2
From what I have heard she did give atheists a bad name due to her acerbic personality.
@JackPedigo She was brutally honest...and her son allegedly sided with her...but a former employee killed her.
All three - Madaline, her son, and her daughter - were killed by a temporary atheistic member she fired, David Roland Waters.
One thing to be brutally honest.
Another to be so honest that it conflicts with your own feelings enough to kill a person.
That's wrong.
You can't give "acerbic personality" as justification for murder.
@Robecology My late partner was often 'brutality' honest and no one ever took offense. Sometimes (often) its more about the messenger than the message.
@JackPedigo Are you "confessing", Jack?
@Robecology Confessing about what? I learned early on, there is a difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness. It felt so good to not have to read her mind.
Wrong. She was killed by Waters, Karr, and Fry who worked for her, stole from her and she discovered it, so they kidnapped her, her son and daughter and killed them to cover up their crimes. The bodies were dismembered and burned and it took years for the truth to come out.
@DenoPenno When you say "wrong" on Agnostic you need to cite your sources.
We're all evidence-based folk.
Sources, please?
@Robecology Really. It was you who said she was killed by her own son and you cited the source as Wikipedia which plainly says Walters, Karr, and Fry did them in. It took years for Karr to crack and when he did he admitted he and Walters had killed Fry. All of this is in your Wikipedia link where you first said "I think (read the link) that she was killed by her own son."
@DenoPenno I think Missouri - your home state - is the "Show me" state?
Wise thinking. It's called evidence for a reason.
You posted none. I asked, "sources please"....sorry to offend.
"There were three deaths, Madalyn, her second son, Jon Garth Murray, and Robin Murray-O'Hair. Robin was a daughter of Madalyn's Christian son, William J. Murray. All three were killed by a temporary atheistic member she fired, David Roland Waters. Madalyn fired Waters after he stole from the atheist headquarters. When Waters returned the stolen money and police did not jail him, this infuriated Madalyn! Leading her to write a story of Waters, calling him homosexual and claimed Waters even had sexual affairs with animals".
The source?
@Robecology My home state has nothing to do with a "show me" mindset and you ignored what I posted when you said "I THINK (READ THE LINK) THAT SHE WAS KILLED BY HER OWN SON." This is wrong. Just totally wrong and the source you say I did not post was posted by you in the very first comment in this thread.
What you are posting now about Waters is correct but I wonder how he could have been a temporary atheistic member. I'm an atheist and not a member of anything.
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