BloodEclipse
Grandmaster
This is for those of you who missed this last year. For those who saw this last year... they're back!
Humanists Push for Godless Holidays -- Sphere News, Opinion and Analysis
1
Humanists Push for Godless Holidays -- Sphere News, Opinion and Analysis
1
(Nov. 23) — As Americans gear up for the
holiday season, they’re fine-tuning wish
lists, digging out unfortunate Christmas
sweaters and bracing for the onslaught of
holiday advertising campaigns.
This year adds a new contender to the
long list of groups vying for attention, and it
comes with a twist. The American Humanist
Association today launched its first nationwide
“godless holiday campaign.” Its
slogan: “No God? ... No Problem!”
The ads, which show smiling people in
Santa hats, will appear first on Washington,
D.C., buses and subway trains over
Thanksgiving weekend. In early December
the campaign will expand to Los Angeles,
San Francisco, New York and Chicago.
Humanism is a philosophy that says people
don’t need the framework of an organized
religion or belief in a supernatural
deity to live morally. Humanists believe
people should lead their lives in a way that
benefits society at large.
Or, as some of the ads put it: “Be Good
for Goodness’ Sake.”
The American Humanist Association,
based in Washington, D.C., promotes humanism
and advocates for a secular government.
Executive Director Roy Speckhardt
said one purpose of the ad campaign
is to build awareness of the humanist
movement among people who don’t already
belong to a specific religion.
“We want to change the way people think
and talk about nontheists, and to pave the
way for acceptance of humanism as a valid
and positive philosophy of life,” he said in a
statement.
Similar ads have appeared in the United
States before, and not without controversy.
Earlier this month, a Cincinnati billboard
sponsored by the United Coalition of Reason
was taken down after the billboard
company received threats. The ad showed a
blue sky with white clouds and the words,
“Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”
It was later put up at a different location.
A similar story played out earlier this
year in Iowa when ads sponsored by the
Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers were temporarily
removed from Des Moines buses
after the transit authority got complaints.
The Des Moines Area Regional Transit
Authority said it based its decision on an
agency policy against allowing the word
“God” in promotional materials. The ads
were later put back up.
Speckhardt said he hopes the godless
holiday campaign reaches people who fear
prejudice because they do not belong to a
traditional faith.
It’s a group that’s rapidly expanding. In
2008, one in five people in the U.S. did not
claim a religious identity, according to a
survey conducted by Trinity College.
“The challenge to Christianity in the U.S.
does not come from other religions but
rather from a rejection of all forms of organized
religion,” according to the survey’s
Web site.
Humanists are not out to cause a stir
with their ads, Speckhardt said. “Of course,
it’s obvious that many people are also good
with a belief in God. So I hope we can all
holiday season, they’re fine-tuning wish
lists, digging out unfortunate Christmas
sweaters and bracing for the onslaught of
holiday advertising campaigns.
This year adds a new contender to the
long list of groups vying for attention, and it
comes with a twist. The American Humanist
Association today launched its first nationwide
“godless holiday campaign.” Its
slogan: “No God? ... No Problem!”
The ads, which show smiling people in
Santa hats, will appear first on Washington,
D.C., buses and subway trains over
Thanksgiving weekend. In early December
the campaign will expand to Los Angeles,
San Francisco, New York and Chicago.
Humanism is a philosophy that says people
don’t need the framework of an organized
religion or belief in a supernatural
deity to live morally. Humanists believe
people should lead their lives in a way that
benefits society at large.
Or, as some of the ads put it: “Be Good
for Goodness’ Sake.”
The American Humanist Association,
based in Washington, D.C., promotes humanism
and advocates for a secular government.
Executive Director Roy Speckhardt
said one purpose of the ad campaign
is to build awareness of the humanist
movement among people who don’t already
belong to a specific religion.
“We want to change the way people think
and talk about nontheists, and to pave the
way for acceptance of humanism as a valid
and positive philosophy of life,” he said in a
statement.
Similar ads have appeared in the United
States before, and not without controversy.
Earlier this month, a Cincinnati billboard
sponsored by the United Coalition of Reason
was taken down after the billboard
company received threats. The ad showed a
blue sky with white clouds and the words,
“Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”
It was later put up at a different location.
A similar story played out earlier this
year in Iowa when ads sponsored by the
Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers were temporarily
removed from Des Moines buses
after the transit authority got complaints.
The Des Moines Area Regional Transit
Authority said it based its decision on an
agency policy against allowing the word
“God” in promotional materials. The ads
were later put back up.
Speckhardt said he hopes the godless
holiday campaign reaches people who fear
prejudice because they do not belong to a
traditional faith.
It’s a group that’s rapidly expanding. In
2008, one in five people in the U.S. did not
claim a religious identity, according to a
survey conducted by Trinity College.
“The challenge to Christianity in the U.S.
does not come from other religions but
rather from a rejection of all forms of organized
religion,” according to the survey’s
Web site.
Humanists are not out to cause a stir
with their ads, Speckhardt said. “Of course,
it’s obvious that many people are also good
with a belief in God. So I hope we can all
find common ground.”
How's this for holiday spirit? :fawk:
