William J. Murray The Atheist “Royalty” Member Who Found Jesus, Part 1

During the 1960s and 1970s, a woman named Madalyn Murray O’Hair was something of a celebrity in the United States, appearing on television talk shows and popping up in newspaper articles on a regular basis.

O’Hair wasn’t a movie star or a soap-opera actress. Instead, the chain- smoking O’Hair was matriarch of a famous family of atheists, “royalty” among the non-believers, in particular her oldest son, William J. Murray, whose protest of prayer and Bible reading at a Baltimore, Maryland public junior high school led to the banning of such practices by the Supreme Court of the United States.

William J. Murray, about 14 when his mother’s lawsuit against the Baltimore schools began—educators had refused to exempt the boy from the schoolroom religious exercises—grew up in a home filled with strife. His father, a wealthy, already-married New Yorker who met Madalyn at the end of the Second World War, only saw the boy once. Madalyn had a second son, Garth, out of wedlock with yet another man. There was no Christian influence in the home to speak of, and Madalyn’s mother dabbled in the occult and claimed psychic powers.

The lawsuit brought by Madalyn and William J. Murray was consolidated with another case before the Supreme Court, Abington School District v. Schempp. On June 17, 1963, eight of the nine justices ruled in favor of the anti-religion plaintiffs. Only Associate Justice Potter Stewart supported the school boards.

Critics charged the ruling fueled an increased secularization of public education and a rise in unwanted behaviors. Atheists, and some others, cheered at the “eviction” of God from the nation’s classrooms.

But young William J. Murray had other things on his mind. He was in a science-oriented high school by the time of the court decision, still an atheist, and looking forward to the future. His mother had turned her anti-school prayer crusade into an organization, American Atheists, and donations poured in from across the land. The group rented an office, printed a magazine, and hired student William J. Murray to operate the printing press at a salary of $50 per week.

In less than 20 years after making history, however, William J. Murray’s life would turn in a totally different direction.

Reflect: Standing up for “principles” can have negative effects on a society, as well as positive ones. What principles are you willing to take a stand for—and have you weighed the consequences?

Key Bible Texts

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13 KJV)