Stopping a 27-Year Rumor:
It All Begins with You

The Board of Bishops recently received a letter from a leader of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking for the help of Free Methodists in squelching a rumor that has outlasted six American presidents.

Since 1976, the FCC has been deluged with more than 10 million calls, letters and, more recently, emails about a widely-circulated rumor involving the late Madalyn Murray O'Hair, a well-known atheist. Specifically, the rumor says that O'Hair proposed that the FCC put a limit or ban on religious programming. (Recent versions of the rumor insinuate via email that the CBS show "Touched by An Angel" is in jeopardy of being pulled from the air.)

This rumor is false. There is no federal law that gives the FCC the authority to prohibit radio and television stations from broadcasting religious programs.

It all started with a 1974 petition filed with the FCC by two community radio advocates. They asked the FCC to inquire into the operating practices of stations licensed to religious organizations, and not to grant any new licenses for noncommercial, educational broadcast stations until the inquiry was complete. The FCC denied their petition six months later. O'Hair (who has been dead since 1995) wasn't connected to the petition in any way.

Since then, thousands of hours and federal dollars have been wasted on what has become a myth of unrivaled proportions.

So when you hear or see these rumors circulating, please be willing to step forward and boldly speak the truth. Help dispell this rumor that makes a bad name for the church by writing back to those who disseminate this as an email rumor and directing them to call 1-888-225-5322 or visit www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/Religious.html.

And when you see other emails that seem like potential rumors or urban legends, check them out at www.truthorfiction.com.