Atheism For Dummies (For Dummies (Religion & Spirituality)) (41 page)

We Are All Atheists About Most Gods. Some of Us Just Go One God Further:
The British Humanist Association sponsored this billboard.

There’s Probably No God.
Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life:
The
British Humanist Association also sponsored this one.

You Know It’s a Myth.
This Season, Celebrate REASON!
This billboard included the three wise men following the Star of Bethlehem in the background, brought to you by American Atheists.

You Know It’s a Myth . . .And You Have a Choice:
These
billboards appeared
in both Hebrew and Arabic. American Atheists sponsored them.

“I read the Bible. Now I’m a Proud Atheist.” Julia Sweeney, Comedian, Playwright . . . Atheist:
This billboard was one of a series spotlighting celebrity atheists, sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Please Don’t Label Me
.
Let Me Grow Up and Choose for Myself:
This billboard showed happy, bouncing kids, along with phrases like “Christian Child,” “Atheist Child,” and “Marxist Child” in the background, courtesy of the British Humanist Association.

You Don’t Need God
—
to hope, to care, to love, to live:
The Center for Inquiry
backed this billboard.

You KNOW they’re all SCAMS:
This ad included houses of worship from several religions — another billboard from American Atheists.

Mormonism: God Is a Space Alien, Baptizes Dead People, Big Money, Big Bigotry — Join American Atheists!:
Subheading read “Atheism: Simply Reasonable.” The background included a man in Mormon sacred garments, also known as “magic underwear.” You guessed it: American Atheists.

Doubts About Religion? You’re One of Many:
It included photos of one famous African American atheist (such as Langston Hughes) and one present-day African American atheist, sponsored by African Americans for Humanism.

One Nation Indivisible:
The original phrase from the US Pledge of Allegiance (before “Under God” was inserted in 1954) appears over an American flag backdrop. The North Carolina Secular Association backed this billboard.

One of my favorites is a brilliant Facebook campaign by the American Humanist Association. Each ad captures a public statement that reflects a humanistic approach to life, then notes that it “Sounds Like Humanism.” One features a photo of the Dalai Lama saying, “The time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether,” followed by the phrase, “Sounds Like Humanism.” The campaign to date has also featured quotes by Albert Einstein, Hillary Clinton, Bertrand Russell, Ronald Reagan, and NFL linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo.

The point is a good one —humanist values look an awful lot like human values, because they are.

The tone of these various campaigns runs the gamut from confrontation to mild invitation to funny to thoughtful. Which tone is adopted has a lot to do with the sponsoring organization and its goals. For instance, American Atheists sees itself as “the Marines of the movement,” so their messages tend to be confrontational. Others like the American Humanist Association take a more humanistic tone, as you may expect. Not that it always changes the public reception. Even the most inoffensive messages, like those that just say some people don’t believe, are often refused by advertising or bus companies, and many are vandalized.