Seattle Atheists has an ongoing ad campaign to promote atheism and skeptical thought. From mid-December through March, these 12-foot wide King County Metro bus ads have been on the streets in Seattle and on the Eastside.
Our goal is to put atheists where people don’t expect to see us. Many theists have numerous misconceptions about atheists, even a strong mistrust of us. We want to reach out and invite our religious neighbors to engage in real conversations with us and learn why we don’t believe.
Going forward, we’re planning an even more ambitious campaign for 2012 that will go beyond buses. Donations now help push the upcoming campaign that much further.
Any ideas for what the ad might contain?
But I just saw a Mormon ad.
Our current campaign ads say, “1 in 4 is an atheist. Learn why: 1in4wa.org” The ads will start circulating in mid-December.
well done. Looking forward to seeing these.
These are much better than last year’s ads. BTW, I tried to donate, but there was some sort of link issue.
These are great! I can’t wait to see them around town.
Hmm, proselytizing and ‘passing the offering basket’ for donations … Sounds strangely similar to a religion to me … I’ll bet there are planned group meetings where there’s an appointed speaker who gives a fiery speech too
PS, I am fairly sure you won’t post my original comment because it just might hit a little too close to the truth for you
Hi, Deliliah. The bus ad campaign, and the group itself, is about visibility and opening honest dialogue, among other things like creating community and advocating for the separation of church and state. There are a lot of misconceptions about atheists, so it’s important to be there to answer questions, and also to support those who no longer believe in god(s).
The idea behind “proselytizing” is that you’re trying to convert people, usually to another religion. That’s not what we’re about. What we’re saying is this: If you’re an atheist, you’re not alone. If you’re looking for information about atheism, humanism, skepticism and the like, we can provide you with those resources. And if you’re a theist, we just ask that you don’t discriminate against others based on religion, and that we all play nice. An equality group that advocates for LBGT rights, for instance, isn’t trying to convert people and make them gay; it’s just showing that they’re people, too, with a valid lifestyle and who deserve the same respect and equal rights as the heterosexual community. We don’t want to just make people atheists, because you’re right–that would be proselytizing. We want people to think for themselves, and if that leads you to a more secular worldview, neat. If it doesn’t, then at least recognize that those without religion can and do live meaningful, happy, law-abiding lives.
Ah, as for fiery speeches…’fraid not. We do like to host speakers throughout the year, but our talks don’t have dogma to gather around. They’re more about science, or critical thinking, or human rights. It’s about how to think, rather than what to think, which tends to be a big distinction from what you find in most churches.
I hope that answers some of your questions.
Jami,
In your response to Deliliah you mention opening an “honest” dialog and yet the ad campaign itself touts a dishonest number. 1 in 4? really. In a related news story (which led me to your site) It says that you cite a 2008 study and yet that study shows that only 1 in 49 residents is atheist. In response Eileen Cabalo said that your group defines “atheist” more broadly than the studies authors. Really? who decides the definitions? there must be a big difference in the definition if the resulting number is more than ten times exaggerated. She also says that “Our hope is to encourage non-religious members of our community to not shy away from the term atheist.” it sounds like your trying to swell the rolls. Is that not a form of proselytizing? Forget wether your beliefs are valid or not, we first have to start at square one: Can you preach your cause without being dishonest?
Well said, Jami.
Bravo! Ever since the Mormon ads started showing up and the polls showing that conservatives would prefer a gay to an atheist for President, I have been hoping someone would speak up for us. You don’t have to be religious to be a responsible and caring member of the human community.
Chuck, you’re not being honest, either. The figures you cite are bogus. About 15% of the entire US population is non-religious. However that’s not evenly distributed across the country. Some areas have more than others. In the Seattle area, the percentage is over 25%, whereas in parts of the deep South, it’s less than 1%. Exact breakdowns further than that are hard to come by, since many people’s personal definitions of what “non-religious” means vary. However, the bus ads are not a nationwide campaign, they are just in the Puget Sound area, so it’s justifiable to use the local statistics, rather than the national ones.
And no, this is not proselytizing, because that would require a belief to which we would be trying to convert people. Atheism is the opposite: the LACK of a belief. You can’t “preach” atheism, because there is nothing to preach.
It’s pretty hypocritical of you to accuse someone else of being dishonest, when you are being dishonest yourself.
The way Deliliah describes it, any sort of community meeting would be a religion. Boy/Girl Scouts, PTAs, and any sort of nonprofit with any goal in mind from promoting cancer research to supporting people with disabilities. Straws, Delilah. You’re grasping wrong.