O'Hair case solved, but legends linger

Christian Century, Feb 21, 2001 by J.D.

The 1995 disappearance of atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair and two family members has apparently been solved with the unearthing on a Texas ranch of the severed remains of three people, say FBI agents.

Federal prosecutors in a court case against David R. Waters, ex-office manager for O'Hair, have claimed he killed O'Hair, who was 77 at her disappearance; son Jon Garth Murray, and granddaughter Robin Murray O'Hair--all of whom worked in the American Atheists' office in Austin, Texas. Five days after a plea bargain with Waters, who last year was jailed for other offenses, authorities went to a site on January 28 where the remains were buried. Waters is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31.

As the trio's terrible fate becomes confirmed, religious observers have reflected on how Madalyn Murray O'Hair's personality and activism created myths about her influence that may endure for years to come.

A brash opponent of piety and deity, O'Hair became a symbol of evil trying to rid public life of religious touches and constitutional privileges. Her movement never developed a large following--she alienated allies who formed new groups. But her willingness to debate in public forums, taunt believers on radio and file lawsuits tended to offend many a churchgoer.

Two false claims about O'Hair survived her death, say religious and government officials. The first was the 25-year-old rumor that the Federal Communications Commission is considering a ban on religious broadcasting allegedly sought by O'Hair. The second is that O'Hair was the person primarily responsible for removing prayer from public schools.

Despite O'Hair's disappearance nearly six years ago, the FCC still receives millions of calls and letters annually from people who have heard that she had petitioned the agency to end religious broadcasting. Repeatedly denied by the FCC, O'Hair and church groups, the "urban legend" persists--as testified by the National Religious Broadcasters' Web site (www.nrb.org) that directs computer users to click on the FCC's debunking responses.

As for O'Hair's reputation as the chief villain in the U.S. Supreme Court's ban on government-sponsored prayer and Bible reading in public schools in the early 1960s, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has often tried to set the record straight in print and on talk shows.

The high court, in Engel v. Vitale, ruled 6-1 in 1962 against New York's nondenominational prayer that state regents had composed for school children to recite. O'Hair was not involved in that case.

The next year, Ed Schempp challenged mandatory Bible reading in Pennsylvania schools. O'Hair was simultaneously suing to stop Bible reading and recitation of the Lord's Prayer in Maryland public schools. The Supreme Court consolidated the Schempp and O'Hair cases and ruled 8-1 that devotional readings or other government-backed religious activities in public schools were unconstitutional.

An Americans United spokesman said on February 6 that O'Hair's contribution to church-state history should be neither exaggerated nor downplayed. "Her decision to fight school-sponsored prayer and Bible reading in Baltimore's public schools was courageous, but she was by no means the only person who took up that fight in the late 1950s," said Rob Boston, the organization's assistant director of communications.

People of many different religious and philosophical views fought in the courts against mandatory religion in public schools, Boston said. "All deserve our thanks for what was often a misunderstood and lonely struggle."