American Atheists
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| Formation | 1963 Austin, Texas, U.S. |
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| Purpose | Promote atheism and secular humanism; oppose religion in the public sphere |
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Key people
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David Silverman (President) Amanda Knief (Managing Director) |
| Website | www.atheists.org |
American Atheists is a non-profit activist organization in the United States dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating for the complete separation of church and state. It provides speakers for colleges, universities, clubs and the news media. It also publishes books and the quarterly American Atheist Magazine, currently edited by Pamela Whissel. The organization was founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair in 1963, following her role in removing mandatory prayer from public schools.
American Atheists was founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O'Hair as the Society of Separationists, after the legal cases Abington School District v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett (1959) which were later consolidated. Both Schempp and Murray challenged mandatory prayer in public schools. Over the years American Atheists has filed numerous lawsuits against public institutions considered to have breached the wall of separation between church and state. The organization, which has approximately 2,200 members, is headquartered in Cranford, New Jersey.
In 1959, Murray filed a 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. In her opening statement, Madalyn Murray said, in part:
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