Hi all,just something to add.;
The Bus Campaign
What is the "Atheist Bus Campaign"?
We are advertising a reassuring, "humanised" message. Originally intended for buses in London the message will now appear on buses across the UK... and on other forms of transport. The message reads:
There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life
The British Humanist Association is one of the atheist bus campaign partners and the slogan is accompanied by links to
www.humanism.org.uk,
www.richarddawkins.net and
www.atheistcampaign.org.
How did the Atheist Bus Campaign start?
The Atheist Bus Campaign began when comedy writer Ariane Sherine wrote a Comment is Free article in June 2008 about the Christian adverts running on London buses. These ads featured the URL of a website which said non-Christians would burn in hell for all eternity. Ariane suggested that atheists reading her article could each donate £5 to fund a reassuring counter-advert.
The Atheist BusPolitical blogger Jon Worth read the article and set up a pledgebank page to which 877 people signed up to pledge £5. The campaign received a boost when the British Humanist Association (BHA) joined the campaign and Richard Dawkins generously agreed to match all donations up to a maximum of £5,500. The BHA set up a Just Giving page where members of the public could donate.
The campaign aimed to raise £5,500 but has ended up raising over £136,000 – enough to support buses all across the UK, adverts on the London Underground and two animated screens in Oxford Street.
Why only ‘probably’ no god?
As with the famous Carlsberg ads (‘probably the best lager in the world’), ‘probably’ helps to ensure that our ads will not breach any advertising codes Committee of Advertising Practice advised the campaign that "the inclusion of the word 'probably' makes it less likely to cause offence, and therefore be in breach of the Advertising Code."
Ariane Sherine has said, ‘There's another reason I'm keen on the "probably": it means the slogan is more accurate, as even though there's no scientific evidence at all for God's existence, it's also impossible to prove that God doesn't exist (or that anything doesn't). As Richard Dawkins states in The God Delusion, saying "there's no God" is taking a "faith" position. He writes: "Atheists do not have faith; and reason alone could not propel one to total conviction that anything definitely does not exist". His choice of words in the book is "almost certainly"; but while this is closer to what most atheists believe, "probably" is shorter and catchier, which is helpful for advertising. I also think the word is more lighthearted, and somehow makes the message more positive.’
Why say ‘stop worrying’?
The Christian ads to which the Atheist Bus Campaign is a response linked to a website that promised non-Christians an eternity of torment in a lake of fire. Pretty worrying. Our ads offer a dissenting view from this and are positive messages, urging that we enjoy our lives.
Why say ‘enjoy your life’?
People who do not believe in gods or other supernatural things, do not usually believe in life after death. Humanists believe that death is the end of our personal existence, that we have only one life and must make the most of it – as Robert Ingersoll, a nineteenth century American humanist said, "The time to be happy is now!"
Is this really a good use of the BHA’s money?
All the money used to pay for the ads came from the thousands of individual donors who have supported the campaign. One of the great things about the campaign is that the support came from the grass roots, demonstrated by these thousands of small donations from members for the public, and its origins with Ariane and Jon. No money has been diverted from other projects; indeed the heightened attention to humanism and atheism even helps further our other campaigns.
Isn’t this just atheist preaching – like religions do?
This has been an overwhelmingly positive campaign, as evidenced by thousands of warm, good-natured comments at justgiving.com/atheistbus. It isn't, and was never intended to be an attack on religion or an attempt at "proselytising" for atheism. After all, an advert on a bus isn’t going to convert anyone, and whilst a few – but very few – commentators have seen it as "anti-religious", most have recognised it as a simple statement of non-religious beliefs.
Our slogan is an affirmation for people that it’s OK not to be religious; that if you are not religious, there is absolutely no reason to worry about that
The advertisements were designed as a response to particular hellfire-and-brimstone adverts; our slogan is an affirmation for people that it’s OK not to be religious; that if you are not religious, there is absolutely no reason to worry about that, and that one can lead a happy, enjoyable and rewarding life without religion. Of course most non-religious people recognise that the best way of leading a happy, enjoyable, positive and rewarding life is by working with, cooperating with, and supporting other people to do the same.
Where are the buses going to be?
See our google map of where the buses are. The idea of the bus ads running in London sparked imaginations up and down the country, prompting calls to take the buses "on tour". Most importantly, like-minded people across the UK offered not just their financial support but their considered, good-natured, humanistic endorsement.
What do you think about the response from religious groups?
By and large the atheist bus campaign was well-received and many religious people commented positively that the buses opened debate, rather than trying to shut debate down.
One attempt to silence the adverts by Christian Voice was rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority who said that while they could not rule on the "substantiation" of the claims, they did conclude that the adverts were "unlikely to mislead or to cause serious or widespread offence."
The adverts have also prompted further campaigns from three Christian organisations. Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association, Hanne Stinson, said "We entirely support free expression and freedom of belief, and so fully support the right of these Christian groups to place their ads on buses. ... Our ads were positive and peaceful. They didn’t say, for example, that religious people were ‘fools’, unlike one of the response ads being run, which says that "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."" Read the full statement.
How else can I support Humanism?
The huge support for the Atheist Bus Campaign has shown how many non-religious people there are who want their voice to be heard. The BHA needs your help to make that happen.
You can help by becoming a member of the BHA or donating to support our work. We have dedicated fundraising pages for our campaign against state funded faith schools and for our campaigns work.
The BHA is the national charity supporting and representing people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs. We promote Humanism, run numerous campaigns for an open society, a secular state and a rational humanist approach to public ethical issues and work in education in both schools and to the public at large.
