Background
A rumor has been circulating since 1975
that the late Madalyn Murray O'Hair, a widely known,
self-proclaimed atheist, proposed that the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) consider limiting or banning
religious programming.
These rumors are untrue. In December
1974, Jeremy D. Lansman and Lorenzo W. Milam filed a petition (RM-2493)
asking the FCC to inquire into the operating practices of stations
licensed to religious organizations, and not to grant any new
licenses for new noncommercial educational broadcast stations
until the inquiry had been completed. The FCC denied this petition
on August 1, 1975. Ms. O'Hair was not a sponsor of this petition.
Since that time, the FCC has received mail
and telephone calls claiming that Ms. O'Hair started the petition
and that the petition asked for an end to religious programs on
radio and television. Such rumors are false. The FCC has
responded to numerous inquiries about these rumors and advised the
public of their falsehood. There is no federal law that gives the
FCC the authority to prohibit radio and television stations from
broadcasting religious programs.
For general information on other
telecommunication-related issues, you may contact the FCC's
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau by e-mail at fccinfo@fcc.gov,
or at the address below. You may also call the FCC's Consumer
Center at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC
(1-888-835-5322) TTY.
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