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The Apollo 8 Genesis reading and religion in the Space Age

The Apollo 8 Genesis reading and religion in the Space Age
The Apollo 8 Genesis reading and religion in the Space Age
Between January 1969 and the summer of 1975, NASA received over eight million letters and petition signatures supporting the right of American astronauts to free religious expression in space. Prompted by Madalyn Murray O'Hair's complaints about the reading of Genesis during the flight of Apollo 8, the petition campaign points to the complex ambivalent relationship between religious Americans and their nation's space program. The Genesis reading had provided reassurance that the program, with its secular motivations, its instrumental culture, and its designs upon God's very heavens, was not hostile to faith. But what if NASA now yielded to O'Hair? The petitions flowed in the eschatological anxiety that the sacred space of the skies might be cleared of Christian speech.
1477-7622
116-121
Oliver, Kendrick
928f8050-9c38-47a8-9121-1f60437dfc1e
Oliver, Kendrick
928f8050-9c38-47a8-9121-1f60437dfc1e

Oliver, Kendrick (2013) The Apollo 8 Genesis reading and religion in the Space Age. [in special issue: Spaceflight and Religion] Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space Politics & Policy, 11 (1-2), 116-121. (doi:10.1080/14777622.2013.803216).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Between January 1969 and the summer of 1975, NASA received over eight million letters and petition signatures supporting the right of American astronauts to free religious expression in space. Prompted by Madalyn Murray O'Hair's complaints about the reading of Genesis during the flight of Apollo 8, the petition campaign points to the complex ambivalent relationship between religious Americans and their nation's space program. The Genesis reading had provided reassurance that the program, with its secular motivations, its instrumental culture, and its designs upon God's very heavens, was not hostile to faith. But what if NASA now yielded to O'Hair? The petitions flowed in the eschatological anxiety that the sacred space of the skies might be cleared of Christian speech.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 20 June 2013
Published date: 2013
Organisations: History

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 353850
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/353850
ISSN: 1477-7622
PURE UUID: f76c782f-a4e8-45eb-a095-b606414a88bf
ORCID for Kendrick Oliver: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1603-1154

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Date deposited: 21 Jun 2013 13:10
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:52

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