William J. Murray, who calls himself the son of the most hated woman in America, told a standing room only crowd at Marcus Pointe Baptist Church's annual Spirit of Christmas celebration Sunday that he rejected his mother's beliefs 20 years ago.
Murray is the son of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who rallied against organized prayer in public schools, which ultimately was banned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1963.
"She did everything she could to remove the name of God from the public school system," said the Rev. Gordon Godfrey Jr., pastor at Marcus Pointe Baptist Church. "William was used as a pawn in that cause."
Murray spoke about his life with his mother, from their failed attempt to relocate to the Soviet Union to his renouncement of her atheistic beliefs and transition to a Christian life.
"God had a bigger plan than she could understand," Godfrey said, introducing Murray to the crowd of more than 1,000. "Along the way, God had begun to work in William's heart."
Murray is now chief of the Religious Freedom Coalition in Washington, D.C., working closely with Congress and the White House in an effort to promote religious freedom throughout the world.
But as a child, he was a member of the Young Communist League and worked with his mother at her communist bookstore. Murray eventually began to grow apart from his mother, working in the airline industry and climbing the corporate ladder.
In 1975, his mother, then operating an atheist organization in Austin, Texas, called American Atheists Inc., began to call him. She was having trouble running the organization and asked him for his help.
Eighteen months later, he had developed it into a profitable organization, Murray said, but at a price he later regretted paying.
"At the same time I was trying to build that organization, I was destroying myself. I couldn't stand what I was doing," he said. "I couldn't stand being the son of the most hated woman in America."
He returned to the airline industry and began to inquire about God.
In 1980, he purchased his first Bible.
He has since preached the Bible, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Christian schools and spoken at a number of major events every year.
Doris Lunsford, 40, of Pensacola, said it is important to have people like Murray championing the cause of religious freedom.
"I know there is a difference between church and state," she said. "My daughter was raised in a public school, but she prays silently and I'm thankful."
Others, like Megan Waybright, 16, of Milton, hope Murray's efforts eventually lead to legal organized prayer in school.
"I think if people pray in school, it will stop some of the problems we have," she said. "People will come to know God."
William J. Murray
William J. Murray is the son of America's foremost atheist, Madalyn Murray O'Hair.
O'Hair claimed responsibility for the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision to ban organized prayer from public schools.
Murray, whose religious and social beliefs departed from his mother's as he grew into adulthood, is now chief of the Religious Freedom Coalition in Washington, D.C., and supports allowing prayer in schools.
He spoke at Marcus Pointe Baptist Church's annual Spirit of Christmas celebration Sunday morning.