Posted on 11/23/2009 3:57:34 PM PST by SeekAndFind
As Americans gear up for the holiday season, they're fine-tuning wish lists, digging out unfortunate Christmas sweaters and bracing for the onslaught of holiday advertising campaigns.
This year adds a new contender to the long list of groups vying for attention, and it comes with a twist. The American Humanist Association today launched its first nationwide "godless holiday campaign." Its slogan: "No God? ... No Problem!"
The ads, which show smiling people in Santa hats, will appear first on Washington, D.C., buses and subway trains over Thanksgiving weekend. In early December the campaign will expand to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Chicago.
Humanism is a philosophy that says people don't need the framework of an organized religion or belief in a supernatural deity to live morally. Humanists believe people should lead their lives in a way that benefits society at large.
Or, as some of the ads put it: "Be Good for Goodness' Sake."
The American Humanist Association, based in Washington, D.C., promotes humanism and advocates for a secular government. Executive Director Roy Speckhardt said one purpose of the ad campaign is to build awareness of the humanist movement among people who don't already belong to a specific religion.
"We want to change the way people think and talk about nontheists, and to pave the way for acceptance of humanism as a valid and positive philosophy of life," he said in a statement.
Similar ads have appeared in the United States before, and not without controversy.
Earlier this month, a Cincinnati billboard sponsored by the United Coalition of Reason was taken down after the billboard company received threats. The ad showed a blue sky with white clouds and the words, "Don't believe in God? You are not alone." It was later put up at a different location.
A similar story played out earlier this year in Iowa when ads sponsored by the Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers were temporarily removed from Des Moines buses after the transit authority got complaints.
The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority said it based its decision on an agency policy against allowing the word "God" in promotional materials. The ads were later put back up.
Speckhardt said he hopes the godless holiday campaign reaches people who fear prejudice because they do not belong to a traditional faith.
It's a group that's rapidly expanding. In 2008, one in five people in the U.S. did not claim a religious identity, according to a survey conducted by Trinity College.
"The challenge to Christianity in the U.S. does not come from other religions but rather from a rejection of all forms of organized religion," according to the survey's Web site.
Humanists are not out to cause a stir with their ads, Speckhardt said. "Of course, it's obvious that many people are also good with a belief in God. So I hope we can all find common ground."
I thought atheists were against evangelizing and pushing your beliefs on others. Guess not.
God help these people! Someday they will face their unknown God and it will be too late for them. Atheism itself is a religion.
There is no such thing as a “godless holiday.” The god of “Human Day” is a human, and a stupid one at that.
Any city that displays these stupid ads should suffer the consequences of NO revenue from purchases of gifts. People who live there should shop “out of town”, no matter how inconvenient.
Granted, “Human Day” is much better than “Humans Are Evil Gaia-Murderers Day”
Get a clue, humanists. “Holliday” is a variant term for “holy day.”
I wish the Founding Fathers could see this. This is the opposite of religious freedom, with Christians being the target. How is it that Christians are the only group not included in “political correctness”? This is very, very wrong.
Does this include Ramadam???
Will they show these ads in very Christian and mostly black neighborhoods???
Could be a test ...no?
I thought humanism was a preferred dietary regime in old rural New Guinea.
“Humanists believe people should lead their lives in a way that benefits society at large.”
Yep. Soylent Green. Al Gore would approve.
See if they say that when the islamism this mindset would usher in inevitably comes to pass.
I am confused. I thought they already had a holiday- April 1st?
They’ve got about as much of a chance of success as does Obama trying to join Mensa.
Satan pushes for Godless humanists...details at 11.
What are they “celebrating?”
No, they just need the framework of a socialist police state and the belief in Big Utopian Government.
I think I'll pass.
May they have a very depressing Un-Christmas!
Atheism itself is a religion. And the political party to which they belong to is the Democrats. Just ask a Kennedy
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