Local reaction to a national billboard campaign from the American Humanist Association, from KSHB (note: this story only has an image of a different, local billboard; for the actual ad in question, click here):
A national Christmas ad campaign against religion offends some in the metro. It even irritates members of the Atheist community.
The ad “Why believe in God? Just be Good for Goodness Sake,” created by the American Humanist Association, is on bus billboards in Washington D.C just in time for Christmas.
As you can imagine the ad angers people of faith.
“Yeah, it is very offensive for people who do believe in God,” said Kelly Drummond, who believes in God.
It also upset James Webb, a UMKC economic professor who is a free thinker.
“I thought it was a bad idea,” Webb said. “I opposed it personally.”
Webb’s group, the Community of Reason, is affiliated with the American Humanist Association. However, the Community of Reason refused to spend money or support the ad campaign in any way.
Maybe we’re just jaded, but as people of, uh, relative faith who sporadically attend services, we don’t see this as particularly offensive — we’ve seen worse, such as the tasteless PETA ads that equated the slaughter of pigs and other farm animals with the Holocaust. This campaign seems more like a way to encourage people to examine their motives for “being good,” as it were…is it because it’s inherently the right thing to do, or because an omnipotent deity (that looks suspiciously like Charlton Heston and speaks with a voice like Morgan Freeman) says to do so or face the fiery flames of Hell? They probably could have done without the “Why believe in God” line…it seems a bit unnecessary, and they alienated a large audience right off the bat. Hel-LO! Advertising 101!
But in fairness, the AHA has a right to promote their message just as any other faith-based (or in this case, lack-of-faith-based) group does — as it is, you can’t drive down any road in the metro without seeing at least one billboard sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that poses questions such as, “Is God really happy with me?” or “Does God really know me?” So why can’t the Freethinkers or other secular humanist groups be able to advertise their beliefs the same way as the Mormons?
This poses an interesting scenario — what if organized religions campaigned via advertising the same way politicians and elected officials do? Imagine the mudslinging TV spots:
“Jesus Christ: Palling around with known prostitutes. Says it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Sounds like “spread the wealth” socialism! This ad was paid for by The Pharisees National Committee.”
“It’s hard to know where Buddha stands on the issues…he’s had twenty-five avatars! More like twenty-five excuses for not taking a position on the things affecting working Americans. We need someone with clear leadership, who won’t reincarnate as is politically convenient.”
“Are you tired of those big-city, tax-and-spend religions trying to interfere with your life? For a natural alternative, go Druid. And be sure to check out the latest feature on our Web site, ‘30 Days of Jay Zarathushtra,’ in which citizens wronged by Zorastrianism will have a forum to be heard.”
Boy, do we miss election season.
(Just for a strange, random aside comment, was anyone aware of the existence of “The Elian Gonzalez Religious Movement” back in 2000? Nope, neither were we.)
