Atheist Evangelism
The bus ad for atheism in the UK has now spread to Spain. The buses bear a simple banner reading, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life." Unsurprisingly the reaction from the Catholic church has been uniformly negative. A similar ad on buses in Washington DC asked commuters, "Why believe in God? Just be good for goodness sake." It similarly provoked a backlash from religious interests in the US. But the British version of Spanish ad was welcomed by some religious organizations in the famously secular UK. They believed that the discussion raised by the campaign would stimulate interest in religion as well as atheism and humanism.
Given the inexplicable scorn which atheism and humanism generally receive from religious circles and the general public in this country, the increased visibility that the ads give to these ideas is very welcome. The notion that a morality requires a religious basis is a non sequitur at best. At worst, it destroys people's ability to grapple with moral issues in a logical framework, substituting religious justification. By the very fact that this is based on belief rather than reason, religious morality can theoretically justify anything. Hopefully these generally tasteful and innocuous posters will prod people to think a little, even if they still like their gods.
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