Correspondence on Godless Holiday

From a Reader

In addition to the signs mentioned in the correspondence, the Madison, Wisconsin based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) (www.ffrf.org) has placed billboards in 8 states promoting a world without religion and others that say “Reason’s Greetings.” FFRF put up one billboard in Canton, Ohio. Their website says, “As part of a campaign to take free thought to the ‘unmassed masses,’ the Foundation has put up a colorful billboard boasting the John Lennon-esque statement ‘Imagine No Religion,’ set against a stained-glass window background. The billboard is about a mile from the Pro Football Hall of Fame… It is illuminated and 10,000 people drive by daily.” On Dec. 2nd FFRF got a sign erected in the rotunda of the Washington state capitol in Olympia. It reads, “At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” The sign appears alongside a nativity scene portraying the birth of Jesus and a “holiday” tree Many of these signs and billboards have come under attack.

’Tis the season – when you often find people trying to shove religion down your throat. But a number of atheist, humanist and freethinker groups have made this fall a different kind of holiday season.

In mid-November, a message went on a billboard overlooking Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Surrounded by a stained-glass motif border, huge letters spelled out: “Imagine No Religion.” It was the first such billboard put up in California by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), an organization dedicated to “separation of state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.”

“There are many people in Southern California who reject religion,” noted Dan Barker, co-president of the foundation. “Isn't it time to balance all that religion on the roadside, and represent the nonreligious point of view?”

Another side is being represented. The FFRF have put up similar billboards in eight other states. One went up in Denver, Colorado, where a lot of Christian fascist and theocratic organizations are headquartered. The latest was in Olympia Washington, reading “Reason’s Greetings.” The billboards also feature the website, www.ffrf.org.

On the East Coast, the American Humanist Association launched a Godless Holiday Campaign, including ads on the sides, back and inside of buses in the DC Metro area. They have messages like, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.” The Colorado Coalition for Reason put up the message, “Don't Believe In God? You Are Not Alone.”

At a time when science and reason are under attack, with powerful forces in the U.S. promoting mindless religious belief, a struggle has broken out over these campaigns.

Less than a week after the Cucamonga sign went up, the billboard company took it down and destroyed it. A spokesperson for the city of Rancho Cucamonga told a local reporter, “We contacted the sign company and asked if there was a way to get it removed.” They said they got “complaints.” It’s the first time a FFRF billboard has been censored after going up.

The City of Rancho Cucamonga has tried to cover up their censorship, telling a reporter, “We didn’t say they had to take it down, but they respected the concerns of residents.”

Speaking with Michael Slate on “Beneath the Surface” on Pacifica station KPFK FM, Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of Freedom from Religion, said, “There is no question that this is official interference and censorship.” She pointed out that billboard companies have been under pressure from the city for years, and the particular company that removed the sign was almost prevented from replacing a billboard that blew down.

She also noted the many emails they had received supporting the billboards, including one woman from Rancho Cucamonga who said she thought she would “never see the day,” when a billboard would reflect her views on religion.

In a message posted in response to the censorship, Annie Laurie Gaylor wrote: “Let’s fight back!” The FFRF has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Rancho Cucamonga.

When the local paper announced the lawsuit, there was a prolonged debate on the paper’s website. One comment went, “All the billboard asks one to do is Imagine and to think. What's offensive about that? Don't agree with it? Don't think about it. Stick your head back in the desert sand spilling from your good book of 2000 years ago. Thinking is a good thing contrary to religious teachings. Religion asks you to ‘trust and obey.’ No thanks. I'm no slave and I'm no sheep.”

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