For the Holidays, an Atheism Billboard

Among the many advertisements lining Interstate 495 in New Jersey en route to the Lincoln Tunnel is a new one promoting atheism for the holidays rather than another gift.

The billboard shows three crowned men riding camels toward a humble manger in which a man and woman kneel beside a straw-filled bassinet, all silhouetted beneath a prominent six-pointed star. The message — “You Know It’s a Myth: This Season, Celebrate Reason!” — is emblazoned in large white letters above the nativity scene.

The provocative 14-by-48-foot billboard was rented for $20,000 by American Atheists, a national atheist organization, and went up Nov. 22. It is the latest in a series of campaigns promoting atheism in the city in recent years, most notably advertisements on city subways and buses. (Those campaigns were the work of the New York City Coalition of Reason, an umbrella group of secular organizations, and NYC Atheists, a local American Atheists affiliate, respectively.)

David Silverman, the president of American Atheists and the man behind the billboard, said it would remain in place at least until the winter solstice on Dec. 21 and possibly through Christmas. He said the billboard was partly inspired by one that the American Atheists’ founder, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, set up in Dallas in the 1970s proclaiming, “Atheism: It’s Not What You Believe.”

Mr. Silverman said the billboard served two purposes. The first was to get the many people who do not actually believe in God but practice religious rituals to “come out,” in his words.

He said the billboard’s location was especially effective because commuters “drive by this sign very slowly every day for a month, right in the Christmas season.”

“And when they go into New York to go shopping,” he said, “they’re going to see it.”

The billboard also stands up to what Mr. Silverman described as a reactionary assault on atheists driven mainly by the religious right.

“Every year, atheists get blamed for having a war on Christmas, even if we don’t do anything,” he said. “This year, we decided to give the religious right a taste of what war on Christmas looks like.”

Comments are no longer being accepted.

You cannot make an Atheist
Declare Deities do exist,
Although intrigued by what they say,
I wish they had a Holiday!

Perley J. Thibodeau November 29, 2010 · 8:44 am

So, everyone is waring?
Aren’t they content to simply call themselves Democrats?

My question who made the winter solstice?

I like it: Welcome to New York: City of evil Atheists and pinkos! You are welcome to spend your money here and go home!

Hooray for Freedom of Speech!

Why go out of one’s way to hurt and offend others?

Believe what you want to believe or, in this case, don’t believe what you don’t want to believe.

Do some good in the world by extending love not hate. Surely most of us can agree with that.

Couldn’t we talk about a more inclusive stable than a “war on Christmas?

laura

God loves everyone. It’s our job as Christians to pray for their ignorance. Remember, none of us is perfect and we all need forgiveness. God allows you to make choices even when you go against Him, He loves you anyway.

Good for them. This holiday weekend, driving through NJ and PA to visit family, I saw at least a dozen religious billboards–ranging from the “When you die, you will meet god” to some anti-evolution “In the beginning” sign, to ads for various churches, etc.

I’m sure there will be some complaining that this offends them. But is this any more offensive than the constant displays of religion everywhere in public life? Doubtful.

Wasn’t there similar advertisements on the London buses? It went something like –

“There’s probably No God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

Net it there were several websites like //www.the-brights.net or some other UK atheist websites.

If I recall, there was a more upfront slogan like – “There is No God” which the Bus authorities rejected as offensive!

Zeus would be proud.

The billboard will run through the SOLSTICE season, as Silverman said in a FOX News interview available on YouTube, as the purported “war on Christmas” is in fact a Christian war on the holiday season–many holidays surround the solstice and Christianity’s is not the only one.

Finally! Let them have it.

A rousing cheer for reason – long absent in the national discourse – and a pause in the downward spiral into a mindless and mind-numbing theocracy (with half of Americans firm in their belief in Creationism!).

That said, I still like Christmas trees, presents, menorahs, “Messiah”, wreaths, single candles in windows, and the general good will that seems pervasive.

But being an atheist is still a fly in soup at any gathering – bringing conversation to a halt.

Go David!! Love your Billboard and a vote for Reason!!

Haha, this billboard is cute. It’s always funny to see the unreasonable lengths that those who believe in nothing but “reason” will go to, in order to tell us who believe in something more that they think we’re wrong.

“Every year, atheists get blamed for having a war on Christmas, even if we don’t do anything,” he said. “This year, we decided to give the religious right a taste of what war on Christmas looks like.”

I am happily and staunchly atheist but I find this logic foolish and antithetical to rationalist thinking. The Christian Right makes up the “war on Christmas” which to most people across the religious spectrum comes off as crazy, paranoid, and laughable. So then an atheist group actually plays into it and tries to make the war on Christmas a reality?? The point of the holiday for most in America who celebrate it is that it’s a time of coming together, being nice to each other, community and family. The Christian Right acting against that spirit hurt their cause. Atheists actually mimicking their anger and hatred that runs counter to true rationalism; it is defensive emotionalism carrying the day over reason.

Effective social communication is based in having respect for your audience so that people across your society see your group is worthy of the same respect you accord them and look past the divisions between your groups. The Christian Right won’t do that, but the point is to reach EVERYONE ELSE. Effective social movements identify what they can build and contribute to the world (America is falling in science rankings, schools – bastions of teaching critical thinking – are failing, libraries are closing down to budget cuts – there is so much that atheist lobbying groups could actually be fixing for all in this country if they didn’t fall into this trap of symbolic tit-for-tat). Above all, effective social movements require self-discipline and restraint in their actions, their strategy, and their messaging. This entire campaign is worthless and it’s sad to see that an atheistic group is actually aping the tactics and thinking of their enemy versus doing their own. It is just poor activism.

So religious or not, people still resort to inflammatory actions to defend their beliefs.

No surprise there :-/

this is a giant breath of fresh air. yay.

when someone religious tries to discuss religion I am always reminded of the scene from Conan: The Barbarian where Conan and some other man are comparing their gods and who could lift a larger mountain and what not.

Christianity makes less sense than this.

Hooray to reason!

Such atheist ads should be welcomed as they do a great job of showing atheism to be an anti-Christian support group and demonstrating their illogicality (their well within the box atheist groupthink talking points).

This new ad, in particular, has been dissected:
//www.examiner.com/christian-apologetics-in-albuquerque/american-atheists-wage-war-on-christmas

A taste of war?

I think everyone, religious, on the fence, or atheist can agree that this is exactly the kind of talk we don’t need. Yes, the religious right can be really offensive, but isn’t “war” as a reaction kind of…well…exactly what atheists decry? I’m confused. Honestly, sometimes atheism strikes me as really ironic because even though they don’t believe in a god or gods, they sometimes act exactly like a religion, especially when they focus on bringing down other belief systems. Maybe it’s just the human condition.

Okay: I’m theist, but I still bristle at the lengths to which some evangelical Christians treat atheists (and non-Christians, and moderate Christians).

However — this gesture makes me what to say what my friends tell each other when one of us does something questionable for the sake of a sociopolitical argument: “Stop being on my side, you’re making my side look stupid.”

It’s a difficult logistical environment for the atheists in the battle over hearts and minds because they don’t have any “good” characters to rally around nor any bad characters to equate with the “other guys”. Just like displays of the cross say “Jesus is the right god”, and on and on, the atheists have to do *something* to get their message out, and since they don’t have a narrative or a set of characters or an omnipotent saber-rattler, the only real option they’re left with is to de-legitimatize the main contenders. And in the end, it’s a fairly good reflection of the atheist belief system, in that, well, they don’t know everything about the universe, but they are damn sure there’s no invisible man floating in the sky.