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FCC Statement on Petition 2493
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, DC 20554
January 1993

Religious Broadcasting
There is no Federal Law or regulation that gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the authority to prohibit radio and television stations from presenting religious programs. The Communications Act prohibits the FCC from censoring broadcast material and interfering with freedom of speech in broadcasting The FCC cannot direct any broadcaster to present or withhold any announcements or programs on religion. and the FCC cannot act as an arbitrator on the insights or accuracy of such material. Broadcasters have the sole responsibility of selecting the programming that is aired by their station.

Petition
In December 1971, Jeremy D. Lansman and Lorenzo W. Milam petitioned the FCC to explore the operating practices of noncommercial educational broadcasting stations, including those licensed to religious educational organizations. The petitioners requested that no licenses be granted for any new noncommercial educational stations until the requested inquiry was completed. The petition, assigned number RM-2493, was denied by the FCC on August 1, 1975, because it is required by the First Amendment "to observe a stance of neutrality toward religion acting neither to promote nor to inhibit religion." Religious and secular organizations also must be similarly treated in determining their eligibility for broadcasting channels.

Madalyn Murray O'Hair
It has been falsely rumored since 1975 that Madalyn Murray O'Hair, a widely known atheist, sponsored RM-2493 and had proposed that the FCC consider limiting or banning religious programming. Furthermore, it has also been falsely rumored that Ms. O'Hair was granted a Federal hearing to discuss the situation.

Since the inception of this issue to the present time, the FCC continues to receive and respond to millions of inquiries. Every effort has been made by the FCC to advise the public of the action taken on RM-2493. The laws and the FCC's policies on broadcast of religious programming have appeared in numerous publications and have been discussed in religious group interactions.