Atheist Billboard in Idaho July 6, 2009

Atheist Billboard in Idaho

By Guest Contributor
July 6, 2009

This new ad from the American Humanist Association is up in Moscow, Idaho.

New_Moscow-Idaho-billboard-high-res

The statement is “Want a Better World? Prayer not required.”

It’s on the intersection of Highway 95 and Sweet Avenue and it’ll be there for another two months.

So far, there is no Florida-like protest. Maybe religious residents agree that the billboard message makes complete sense… or they just haven’t noticed. I’m fine with it either way.

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  • schism

    Am I the only one who takes issue with “a better world” being full of boring blue skies and allergy-triggering flora?

    At least throw me a thunderstorm bone here and there. Rain? Fog, even?

  • Ungullible

    Well at least the color scheme is not as obnoxious as the FL billboard. If decorative taste were the only measure, I’d have to agree that the FL board is offensive. 😉

  • beckster

    I can get behind that message. It bugs me to no end when people tell me they are praying for the starving children in Africa or the people in New Orleans or earthquake victims in Pakistan. I always want to point out that a better move, and one that will actually make a difference, is to get out their wallets and donate. They seem to think that praying for others absolves them of actually having to do anything to help anyone.

  • littlejohn

    I thought they only worshiped potatoes. They keep their many eyes upon us.

  • This is great! I live somewhat near there & am very glad to see these kind of things happening around here.

  • Pepe Silvia

    I thought they only worshiped potatoes. They keep their many eyes upon us.

    We don’t worship potatoes, we just make really good ones. In regards to the billboard, we’ve actually had one since March:
    http://www.fox12idaho.com/global/story.asp?S=9969621
    But it’s nice to see another one popping up.

  • I’m glad they got this in Idaho, of all places. Amazing!

  • David D.G.

    I normally don’t chip in with a criticism on these things, mostly because it’s moot since the stuff is already on display, but this time I have what I consider a fair and constructive criticism (at least, I hope so) that ought to be taken into account on future atheism billboards and other displays.

    Namely, the catchphrase “prayer not required” is okay, but it’s extremely minimal. In fact, it almost seems as if the billboard is touting the notion that to improve the world, NOTHING is needed (i.e., not even prayer), which could not be further from the truth.

    The real problem is that prayer **IS** nothing. Therefore, the removal of prayer, while not unhelpful, still doesn’t really add anything of substance. It isn’t enough to say “prayer not required”; in the context of the billboard query (“Want a better world?”), the answer should be one that actively promotes something (a “positive claim,” if you will), rather than just dismissing a functionless nothing.

    In my opinion, a much better alternative to “prayer not required” would be something such as “work beats prayer,” or “working beats praying.” Regardless of the wording, it should be something that not only rejects religion and/or its aspects (such as prayer), but also promotes something positively (science, rationality, reason, skepticism, something of that nature).

    I hope this input of mine is not out of line; I strongly support the atheism billboard campaigns, and I am grateful for those people who conduct them.

    ~David D.G.

  • zoo

    “So far, there is no Florida-like protest.”

    Unfortunately, that’s just how Florida is. It’s often religious, but not always. If you can be against something for a stupid reason or at least without having your facts straight, someone here is.

    Again unfortunately, that’s about all people elsewhere see so we have a special reputation for stupidity. There really are smart people here!

  • Chris D

    Cool! I live about 8 miles away from Moscow. I’ll have to get a pic next time I head over there.

    With respect to “no Florida-like protects,” Moscow is extremely liberal compared to most the rest of Northern Idaho so I’m not surprised at all.

  • AnonyMouse

    WOO! Finally a billboard in my home state! *rawk* I know there are atheists around here somewhere, but I never seem to see them doing anything for the most part. This is highly encouraging.

  • I want a better world and I don’t pray. Surely there is more to it than that though? I hope for a follow up.

  • Glad to see a billboard like this in my home state too! Moscow is probably the only place in Idaho that this would’ve worked without a big uproar. Boise, although still fairly liberal, would have had more upset religious people simply because of the size of the city. I live only a few miles out, so I’m heading there with my camera to find it!

  • I really like this because it’s simple,
    but it gets a number of points across.

  • Daniel

    I live further up north in Idaho and if there were a billboard like that here the people would find a way to tear it down. It’s frightening how intolerant people are of others’ religions up here.