Madalyn Murray Quotes & Sayings

An atheist believes that a hospital
should be built instead of a church.
An atheist believes that deed must
be done instead of prayer said.
An atheist strives for involvement in life
and not escape into death.
He wants disease conquered,
poverty vanished, war eliminated. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

The atheist realizes that there must not only be an acceptance of his right to hold his opinion, but that ultimately his is the job to turn his culture from religion, to eliminate those irrational ideas which have held the human race in intellectual slavery. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

I told my kids I just want three words on my tombstone, if I have one. I'll probably be cremated. One is "woman." I'm very comfortable in that role. I've loved being a woman, I've loved being a mother, I've loved being a grandmother. I want three words: Woman, Atheist, Anarchist. That's me. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

One could call this a postnatal abortion on the part of a mother, I guess; I repudiate him entirely and completely for now and all times ... He is beyond human forgiveness. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Atheism may be defined as the mental attitude which unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and aims at establishing a lifestyle and ethical outlook verifiable by experience and the scientific method, independent of all arbitrary assumptions of authority and creeds. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Organizing atheists is like hurding cats — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

This religion gives you goals which are outside of reality. It enriches your fantasy life with ugliness. It fills you with ideas of guilt over the most common human experiences
usually related to sex. In this room, right now, each of you, in your own lives, has agonized over the fact that you have masturbated. Masturbation isn't sinful. If it feels good
do it. You have my blessing, and you yourself know how it relaxes you. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

The church doctrines of obedience to authority, repentance, fear of punishment, self-abnegation, acceptance of outer direction rather than inner assurance, elevation of faith over reason, and intolerance make institutionalized religion an ideal instrument of social constraint. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Well, as a militant feminist, I believe in complete equality with men: intellectual, professional, economic, social and sexual; they're all equally essential, and they're all equally lacking in American society today. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

No god ever gave any man anything, nor ever answered any prayer at any time - nor ever will. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Well, we are men. Let's start acting like it. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

There is no God. There's no heaven. There's no hell. There are no angels. When you die, you go in the ground, the worms eat you. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Religion has ever been anti-human, anti-woman, anti-life, anti-peace, anti-reason and anti-science. The god idea has been detrimental not only to humankind but to the earth. It is time now for reason, education and science to take over. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

You hate me because I am the embodiment of all your doubts. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair was murdered. Jon Murray and Robin Murray-O'Hair were also murdered by individuals involved with the atheist organization. — Bill Murray

At no time have I ever said that people should be stripped of their right to the insanity of belief in God. If they want to practice this kind of irrationality, that's their business. It won't get them anywhere; it certainly won't make them happier or more compassionate human beings; but if they want to chew that particular cud. they're welcome to it. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

I feel that everyone who wants to say anything, do anything, should be able to say anything or do anything, within the limits of not hurting another person. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

About six years ago, Life magazine ran an article on the historicity of Jesus and I was floored to find that they conceded the only evidence we have for his existence is in the Gospels. But don't take Life's word for it. In his book The Quest of the Historical Jesus, the most definitive study that's ever been done on the subject, Albert Schweitzer admitted that there isn't a shred of conclusive proof that Christ ever lived, let alone was the son of God. He concludes that one must therefore accept both on faith. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Religion is a crutch, and only the crippled need crutches. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Ill tell you, Mr. Thomas, why some Christians are afraid of me. They're not sure that what they believe is really true. If they were sure, I wouldn't be a threat to them at all. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

I feel that everyone has a right to be insane. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Atheists have an excellent longevity record because we have no place to go after we die, so we take good care of ourselves and our world while we are here. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Atheism is based upon a materialist philosophy, which holds that nothing exists but natural phenomena. There are no supernatural forces or entities, nor can there be any. Nature simply exists. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

An atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

So my life and the life of my family has been completely disrupted in absolutely every way. But it's been worth it. It's uncovered a vast cesspool of illegitimate economic and political power in which the Church is immersed right up to its ears, and I intend to dive in headfirst and pull it out of there dripping wet for all the world to see
no matter how long it takes, no matter whose feet get stepped on in the process, no matter how much it costs, no matter how great the personal sacrifice. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Intolerance has always been one of the cornerstones of Christianity - the glorious heritage of the Inquisition. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

The neighborhood children, of course, were forbidden by their parents to play with my little boy, Garth, so I finally got him a little kitten to play with. A couple of weeks later we found it on the porch with its neck wrung. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

An Atheist is a person who questions every kind of authority, and this is the thing that is important. Because if we can, without blinking an eye, question the ultimate authority, god - who must be obeyed, then we can question the authority of the state, we can question the authority of a university structure, we can question the authority of our employer, we can question anything. So I think the primary thing that an Atheist is, is a person who looks at an authoritarian idea, or an authority structure, and says to that authority structure: from whence do you derive your authority and why should I be obedient to you? It appears to me that if I have human intelligence that this is enough for me to try to challenge whatever you're doing. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

The relationships that people have - that are sexual, psychological, emotional - these relationships are not open to supervision by parents, schools, churches, or government. Nobody has any right to intervene at all in any kind of relationship like that. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

The fear of hell is the basis for the Christian faith. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

But the most heinous crime of the Church has been perpetrated not against churchmen but against churchgoers. With its poisonous concepts of sin and divine punishment, it's warped and brainwashed countless millions. It would be impossible to calculate the psychic damage this has inflicted on generations of children who might have grown up into healthy, happy. productive, zestful human beings but for the burden of antisexual fear and guilt ingrained in them by the Church. This alone is enough to condemn religion. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Atheism is a very positive affirmation of man's ability to think for himself, to do for himself, to find answers to his own problems. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

On the issue of censorship of pornography and rock music, do you see that as a religious issue, too?
Yes, I do. Incidentally, I don't like rock music. I never have liked it. I have never understood it, and I can't hear the lyrics. I think that most people can't hear them either. I'm still stuck with Chopin and Beethoven and Bach, and all those old ones. The whole point is, I feel that everyone who wants to say anything, do anything, should be able to say anything or do anything, within the limits of not hurting another person. And I don't see how rock music hurts anybody, or I don't see that pornography hurts anybody. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Religion is induced insanity. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

I picked up the Bible and read it from cover to cover one weekend - just as if it were a novel - very rapidly, and I've never gotten over the shock of it. The miracles, the inconsistencies, the improbabilities, the impossibilities, the wretched history, the sordid sex, the sadism in it - the whole thing shocked me profoundly. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Religion has caused more misery to all of mankind in every stage of human history than any other single idea. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

The atheist must abandon his defensive positions, take up the cudgels and go forward, rather than into the retreat of apathy. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

I'll tell you what you did with Atheists for about 1500 years. You outlawed them from the universities or any teaching careers, besmirched their reputations, banned or burned their books or their writings of any kind, drove them into exile, humiliated them, seized their properties, arrested them for blasphemy. You dehumanised them with beatings and exquisite torture, gouged out their eyes, slit their tongues, stretched, crushed, or broke their limbs, tore off their breasts if they were women, crushed their scrotums if they were men, imprisoned them, stabbed them, disembowelled them, hanged them, burnt them alive.
And you have nerve enough to complain to me that I laugh at you. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

We wish our Christian brothers would be honest and permit us our heroes. We do not deny them theirs. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

I don't care whether I succeed or whether I fail as long as I am trying. I hope that I succeed. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

If anybody wants to engage in any kind of sexual activity with any consenting partner, that is their business. Anybody can do anything they damn well please, as long as the relationship isn't exploitive. And I don't feel that legality should have anything to do with it. There are certain bodily functions of mine which I will not allow to be supervised. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair

In an unconstitutional partnership with the state, the church can impose the most irresistible, if covert, controls conceivable. — Madalyn Murray O'Hair