American Atheists

American Atheists is an organization in the United States dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating for the complete separation of church and state.^[1] In addition it provides speakers for colleges, universities, clubs and the news media as well as publishes books and a monthly American Atheist Magazine.^[1][2][3]

Origin and early legal action

Founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O'Hair (born Madalyn Mays, she would later adopt her more famous surnames, Murray and O'Hair, in 1945 and 1965, respectively) as the Society of Separationists, American Atheists emerged from the cases Abington School District v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett (1959) which were later consolidated. Both Abington and Murray challenged mandatory prayer in public schools. Over the years American Atheists has filed numerous lawsuits against public institutions it considers to have breached the wall of separation between church and state. The organization, which has approximately 2,200 members, is currently headquartered in Cranford, New Jersey. In 1959, Murray filed her case on behalf of her son, William J. Murray, who was being forced to attend bible readings in school and was being harassed by teachers and school administrators for refusing to participate. The consolidated case, usually cited as Abington School District v. Schempp (although, arguably, Murray v. Curlett became the more famous of the two,) was argued before the United States Supreme Court on February 27 and February 28, 1963.^[4] In her opening statement, Madalyn Murray said, in part,"An atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An atheist thinks that heaven is something for which we should work for now — here on earth — for all men together to enjoy." The justices rendered their decision on June 17, 1963. It was in favor of the petitioners, 8-1. They ruled that state-mandated prayer and unison bible readings in public schools were a violation of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Justice Potter Stewart was the sole dissenter.

Johnson's leadership

The American Atheists logo, based on the atomic model. Officially, the letter 'A' in the middle stands for America, commonly used to refer to the United States. It would, in theory, change for expansion into other countries. The open-ended vertical orbital signifies that not all is known yet.

On August 27, 1995, Madalyn, Jon, and Robin O'Hair disappeared from the organization's former Austin, Texas headquarters. Ellen Johnson, a second-generation atheist, assumed control of American Atheists shortly after the disappearance.^[5] It was later revealed that the three were robbed and murdered by an ex-convict. On November 2, 2002, at the Godless Americans March on Washington, Johnson led a few hundred atheists who marched to demand a voice in American politics.^[6] In November 2005 the Godless Americans Political Action Committee (GAMPAC), a PAC to endorse political candidates who support the separation of church and state was formed.^[7] Subsequently, atheists have become more outspoken about being an ignored voice in the United States.^[8] In 2002 American Atheists took Wildwood City to court for "displaying religious decorations at City Hall."^[9] In 2004 the group held the 30th annual national convention of the American Atheists.^[10] The convention attracted several best-selling atheist authors and leaders from several other secular organizations.^[11] In July 2006 Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in an interview that, "Agnostics, atheists and bigots suddenly lose all that when their life is on the line." In response Master Sgt. Kathleen Johnson, who founded the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers served in Iraq said that was "a denial of our contributions" and "A lot of people manage to serve without having to call on a higher power."^[12] American Atheists helped organize a campaign against the "no Atheists in foxholes" claim.^[13] The logo of the American Atheists is an allowed "emblem of belief" approved by the US Department of Veterans Affairs "for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers" [1] In May 2007 ABC News featured a report on discrimination the Smalkowski family suffered from government officials in Hardesty, Oklahoma.^[14] The report included information about an ongoing lawsuit, which was filed by American Atheists on behalf of the Smalkowski family.^[14] The lawsuit alleges the Hardesty Public School District violated Nicole Smalkowski's (a 13 year-old girl) constitutional rights.^[15] Also in May Joe Zamecki organized a national campaign to celebrate "National Day of Reason" in contrast to a day of prayer.^[16]

Court cases

American Atheists have won several important cases involving the separation of church and state, and currently have many ongoing lawsuits.^[17]

• Murray v. Curlett (1963) Challenged Bible reading and prayer recitation in Maryland public schools.
• Murray v. United States (1964) To force the Federal Communications Commission to extend the Fairness Doctrine so that Atheists could have equal time with religion on radio and television.
• Murray v. Nixon (1970) Challenged weekly religious services in the White House.
• O'Hair v. Paine (1971) Challenged NASA's religious use of the space program to require astronauts to read the Bible during a space flight.
• O'Hair v. Cooke (1977) Challenged the opening prayer at city council meetings in Austin, Texas.
• O'Hair v. Blumenthal (1978) Challenged the inclusion of the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency.
• O'Hair v. Hill (1978) To have removed from the Texas constitution a provision requiring a belief in god of persons holding offices of public trust.
• O'Hair v. Andrus (1979) Challenged the use of National Park facilities for the pope to hold a Roman Catholic mass on the Mall in Washington, D.C..
• O'Hair v. Clements (1980) This case tried to remove the nativity scene displayed in the rotunda of the capitol building in Austin, Texas.
• Steel Crosses on Utah Highways (2005) [2]
• Society of Separationists vs. Pleasant Grove (2004)
• American Atheists vs. Starke, Florida.(2005)[3]
• American Atheists, Inc., and Steve Walker vs. City of Detriot, City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority, and Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.
• Clyde Baxley, Grace Brown, Edward Byford, Bill Jager, Al Sundquist, James Woolever, Arlen Acharias, and Dorothy Anne Zappa Vs. State of Alaska.
• American Atheists Inc., Mark W. Butler v. The City of Jacksonville, Florida (2006) (Sued for the city's tax-funded "Faith Day")^[18]
• Chester Smalkowski, Nadia Smalkowski, American Atheists v. Hardesty Public School District, The County Of Texas County, Oklahoma, The Town Of Hardesty, Oklahoma. (Filed August 2006)[4]
• American Atheists Inc., Lon Bevill, v. City Of Stark, Florida. (2007) [5]

References

See also

• A Secular Humanist Declaration
• Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library and Archives
• List of atheist organizations
• Godless Americans March on Washington
• Secular Student Alliance

External links

• American Atheists – Official website
• Godless Americans PAC – Official website