Buses in London could soon contain atheist messages as the British Humanist Association (BHA) are fundraising to have god-dispelling advertising on bendy-buses. Professor Richard Dawkins has backed the campaign which aims to have 60 London buses carrying the signs for four weeks.
The original fund-raising target was 5, 500 pounds which Professor Dawkins agreed to match. The campaign has now raised more than ninety-five thousand pounds on its own, and the BHA have decided to have adverts inside the buses as well as on trains and billboards throughout the UK. The campaign has received an amazing amount of attention and for a time, was receiving around a thousand pounds’ worth of donations every hour.
The campaign will be rolled out to other cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh because of the overwhelming response. The full advert reads “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
dawkins loves rock
Professor Dawkins said “Religion is accustomed to getting a free-ride – automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children.
“Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side.
“This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think – and thinking is anathema to religion.”
I think this is a big waste of money. The campaign, which has been supported by the Guardian, seems completely pointless. It’s not as if the UK is the most religious country on earth, meanwhile tosspot Guardian readers are looking down their noses at their imagined “uneducated masses” and expect to be seen as controversial while doing so.
I’m not a god-botherer, I just don’t see the benefit of this massive advertising campaign. Considering we expect people of different religions to live alongside each other and respect each others faith, it seems hypocritical for the godless people to try to be so offensive and intolerant of those who choose to believe in a creator.
Stephen Green of pressure group Christian Voice commented that “Bendy-buses, like atheism, are a danger to the public at large”. He also said that the adverts would be likely to attract graffiti, but what mode of public transport in London isn’t?
I think commuters on London transport will continue to play around on their fancy phones and listen to their ipod, and ignore the adverts.
The adverts will run from January 2009.
www.justgiving.com/atheistbus
