Raleigh Gets Ready to Meet Neighborhood Atheists

Last October, the Freedom From Religion Foundation went live with an atheist ad campaign featuring relatively unknown, local freethinkers from Madison, Wisconson.

I thought it was a strong campaign with beautifully-designed billboards.

Now, they’re doing it again in Raleigh, North Carolina. This time, 12 billboards will go up on behalf of the Triangle Freethought Society. They went up today and they’ll be there through the end of April (PDF).

Here are the new designs:

“It worked for the gay rights movement. It’s time for atheists and agnostics to come out of our closet,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, who co-directs FFRF with Dan Barker. “Many faces make enlightenment work. We know many people in North Carolina have never knowingly met an atheist or unbeliever, much less someone who is proud to advertise their nonbelief. We are so proud of our North Carolina members and participants.”

…

“We are grateful to the Triangle Freethought Society and our members for coming ‘out of the closet’ and participating in this campaign, and particularly wish to single out Amy Glenn, who coordinated this amazing project so adroitly,” said Barker.

…

Eric Thomas, a community member who is pictured on one of five billboards in Raleigh, states that he wanted to be part of the campaign because, “By putting a human face on atheism, I hope to contribute to reversing the demonization of atheism that occurs so often… I want non-theists’ concerns to be adequately represented in society.”

Talk about putting your face with a godless word?

I love this. It humanizes a group of people often falsely stereotyped as amoral and wicked. And, best of all, these are not actors playing the part. They are citizens of North Carolina, living and working in the areas where these billboards will go up.

We need more campaigns like these.

beckster

Seeing people I know and hang out with on these billboards is great! So proud of you all and so happy to count many of you as friends.

-Becky of Raleigh PBB!
Sally

wonderful!
Michelle

Really cool signs. I’m glad that there are a variety of people who all choose different ways to identify themselves. Side note: Truck drivers have a special place in my heart.
Anonymous

Beautiful! Thank you for standing up!
Daniel

I like.

But now I can’t get out my head the idea that the public is going to find a strong correlation between Atheism and facial hair among men. :p
MIchael

+1 Daniel! Thought the same thing with the facial hair. Too funny.
Daniel

Bah – editing software says I don’t have permission to edit, though it was within the time frame: may want to check that.

Referencing previous discussions on gender, interesting that of the 11 designs (is there a twelfth or is one going up twice?), 6 feature a man by himself, 2 feature traditional nuclear families (or possibly three generations of one family), 1 features teen sisters, and 2 feature a woman by herself.
cdogzilla

Excellent! I live in Fuquay-Varina and work in Durham. Will toot my horn and thumbs-up out my window when I see one of these.
SisyphusRocks

I like them all except for the one about putting Faith in Science. I don’t have faith or belief in science. I trust that measurement, observation and testing will determine facts. I accept scientific consensus, while allowing myself to change my mind given new evidence. Faith has nothing to do with it, and really lends credence to those who claim that evolution/Darwinism is another religion, that there is a religious fervor to skepticism and that it takes more faith to not believe in a god than it does to believe in one.
Tim D.

Finally! A pro-atheism campaign that doesn’t focus primarily on bashing religion! I’ve been waiting for one of these to pop up, both for the obvious reasons as well as the fact that I can point to it the next time some fundie tells me that atheists “don’t stand for anything.” I’m all for it.
Annie

I could have used some of these billboards on a recent trip to Orlando. The Florida turnpike is littered with anti-choice and Christian billboards. So much so that my 11 year old commented on how annoying it was. We fantasized about putting up something like the billboards shown above.
Amy Glenn

Thanks for all of the positive feedback everyone, and thanks to Hemant for helping to publicize this for us!

This was a great project to work on, and I’m so glad we can get a positive word out about nonbelievers. We are a quickly-growing and very active group and would love to have any and all of you join us!
Rebecca

Love it! Bring some of those signs to Goldsboro NC. We need them!
Amy Glenn

I hear you Rebecca – I grew up in Goldsboro and I know what you mean. We did get to Smithfield – 4 big beautiful ones there! Unfortunately “triangle” doesn’t really include Goldsboro – Smithfield was a bit of a stretch in itself!
NotYou007

Billboards are not allowed in Maine by law but at times I wish they where.
beckster

So proud of you Amy!
Ryan

They look great! I live in Raleigh and I’ll keep my eye out for these.
Danielle

I agree, SisyphusRocks.
Joe Zamecki

Those are some nice looking billboards. I love that most of the folks pictured in them are smiling ear to ear. Plus the colors are eye-catching. That’s darn good.

Of course I have a little trouble with the messages that seem to declare that science is a religion that replaces religion. I’ve never thought of science as being like some kind of fraternal twin to Atheism. Yes, it’s clear that our side is much more scientific and understanding of science and nature. But it’s a separate issue from freedom from religion, imho.

Still, very nice signs.
Rhodent

@Rebecca: I have family in Goldsboro and went to school for a bit there, and I have very sincere sympathy for any atheist living there (and it’s still probably better than a lot of other cities in that part of the state). A campaign there would definitely be a good thing, although I don’t know of an organization in town that would sponsor such a thing.
bedlers

I like it, but the triangle isn’t exactly charlotte.
CanadianNihilist

There’s some nice ones there. Good on them.
Gaardiyen

Fantastic!!

I live in Cary and work in Fuquay-Varina….glad to see our communities taking a stance against dogma!
ckitching

I’m glad it’s non-celebrities and non-historical figures this time around.
Lion IRC

I’m glad it’s non-celebrities and non-historical figures this time around.

I am trying (without bias) to look at the communication from a strategic / marketing perspective thinking about the target audience.

Two things stand out.

1. For a “talking heads” campaign, they’re not saying much. I know that in marketing, “easy to follow – easy to swallow”, but we’re not talking about changing your brand of shampoo.

2. The graphics which include (indoctrinated?) children. It looks a little bit like “if you cant beat ’em join ’em“. Is that the plan?
JenV

I like the billboards, but I wish they were just a teensy bit more racially diverse…I think I counted 18 to 1. I’m sure there’s atheists of all different colors out there, and it would be nice if they were a bit more represented in these billboards.
Noodly1

@Daniel, don’t be so narrow-minded! 😉

@Amy, thanks again for all your hard work!

@Hemant, thanks a bunch for the shout out!

I can’t begin to describe how awesome it feels to 1) be truly “out,” no ifs, ands, or buts and 2) to be a part of something so historically unimaginable, considering where we are located geographically. I can but hope that this opens many eyes to the fact that there are more than a few of us who simply refuse to swallow the purple kool-aid that is our cultural background.
Noodly1

JenV, an invitation was issued to all members–we are the ones who responded. You can’t demand diversity from a non-diverse group. I personally think it’s really cool that there are a dozen willing participants in the Raleigh area. The fact that more than a few are of varying ethnicities is a huge plus. Not to mention, who are you to determine what my heritage really is?! With American Indian/British/Scottish/German/Aryan ancestry (and who knows what else), I consider myself “other” when it comes to defining myself as a “race.”
andrew

Wisconsin* heh, no big deal 🙂
Justin Bonaparte

Cool campaign! Thumbs up from Charlotte, NC!

Ditto on the ‘faith in science’ bit, that’s wonky, but I’m fairly on board with the rest of them.
Rebecca

Actually there were 3 minorities featured. Rodrigo is Latino and Sam is… something else. Can’t remember, as we only met in passing once. Indian maybe? (Curtis is African-American, of course.)

Heck, I’m pleased with the number of women. I feel like a minority sometimes, in atheist groups!
AxeGrrl

Sisyphus Rocks wrote:

I like them all except for the one about putting Faith in Science.

Ditto! accepting conclusions that have tons of evidence behind them doesn’t fit with the definition of ‘faith’, imo. And personally, I see it as just giving ammo to believers to say “your worldview is based on faith, just like mine is!”

Other than that, me like 🙂
garsedj

“i believe in science”
and a lot in photoshop effects ! XD
Claudia

Funny, I’m a scientist and wasn’t particularly annoyed with the putting faith in science one. Oh sure I understand that you don’t have “faith” in science but I took it to mean “trust”. I guess from a religious perspective it could be misinterpreted though, particularly by people who want nothing more than to misinterpret us.

I love almost all of them but can’t quite warm up to “WE’VE (underlined) got the whole world in our hands!” There seems to be an implied “You fuckers don’t” in there that I’m not cool with, even though I understand that it’s merely drawing a parallel with religious speech.

2. The graphics which include (indoctrinated?) children. It looks a little bit like “if you cant beat ‘em join ‘em“. Is that the plan?

I get the objection but on the other hand I don’t see the alternative. Showing that nontheists are regular, happy, healthy people not so different from you means showing that they also raise happy, healthy children. I think it’s very important to show that the atheist is not (only) a Goth college student but is people of all colors, ages and genders. Of course further questions would have to include the disclaimer that we do not approve of childhood faith indoctrination (though teaching critical thought yes) and that those kids are the children of atheists, but that doesn’t fit well on a billboard. I wouldn’t support a young child on their own in a billboard, but I think this is acceptable.
Oli

I find some of them to be a bit unsettling and “culty” or maybe its just me
chicago dyke

it’s the comic in me, but i’d love to see, say, my ex in one of these. “i’m a crack smoking unemployed drop out who does not pay my child support, and i’m an atheist.” cause he was. just sayin. the xtians have scary people on their billboards and we can too. 😉
Mandi

I saw one of these on the way to work this morning, and it brightened my morning considerably!

This is HUGE for this traditionally very conservative area.
Sue

I am so excited by our billboard campaign, and so proud of my colleagues! Thanks, Hemant, for sharing this. Re: the “Faith in Science” line–y’all are being way too literal, and I am SURE that Collete and Sophia are being ironic in their use of “faith,” so please stop picking on our girls ;^) The whole thought that I mentally fill in, the context provided by our society, is “Faith in God to save me or save the world? I prefer to put my faith in Science” –it’s also fair to acknowledge that science might not save me/you/us/the planet either. We all have a little faith in science, and in the future, don’t we? Nothing supernatural. More akin to hope. But solidly grounded in reason. BTW for those of you in the Triangle area, we have a MORE cool stuff coming up! Join our organization–trianglefreethoughtsociety.org
JenV

@Noodly1

Just an observation on my part, nothing to get upset about. I’ve worked in diversity and marketing for years, and it’s something I just notice. I’m not saying that we need to force someone into a race category, just that it might be nice for people of color to have more diverse faces to identify with. Again, not so much a criticism as an observation. It’s about inclusion. I’m glad you found so many willing participants.

That said, I think the billboards are great. Keep up the good work. I wish we had that many billboards here in the Mpls/St.Paul area. We don’t have any, as far as I know.
Kristopia

I’m excited to be in the Triangle for this campaign, and to be part of the organization that made it possible. I’m already hearing a lot of feedback, most of it positive!
Justin Griffith

Great job Triangle Freethought Society. I happen to attend some of their meetings when I can make the drive from Fort Bragg, and they are always great. This is exactly how local activism should be done.
Jessica

Thanks so much to those who appear on these billboards! You’re doing a really important thing and I think it’s brave.
Togii

I particularly love the one that says it’s okay to leave your faith if it feels wrong. It seems like a comforting message.
Good job, everyone~
Lawrence Hilliker

Thank you Triangle Free Thought Society! I am very excited to see this campaign in Raleigh! I think all the billboards are perfect and I can’t wait to see my first one in person. Thanks to all that made this possible and thanks to all the people on the billboards!
Karen

A big thank you to the Triangle Free Thought Society and the participants on the billboards. I think you are all very brave and hopefully this is the beginning of similar campaigns in other cities.
Velvet Staccato

After fearing I’d spend the rest of my life regretting my move to Raleigh, I actually now can say I feel a lot more at home. Thank you so much for everything you are doing!!
Crystal

For those in the Triangle who appreciate the billboards, we hope you’ll come to the next TFS meeting. You might like it and join up, like I did! 🙂

http://www.trianglefreethoughtsociety.org/

Thanks to all the members featured, but special thanks to Amy. I can’t imagine the months of hard work you put in, but I think you did an awesome job!
JIm Nazium

But… when you gaze up at the stars, don’t you just KNOW that there is a higher power watching over you? Me neither! Good job on the billboards. GO FREETHINKERS EVERYWHERE!
momintum

Dogma has brutalized earth’s population repeatedly raping all the inhabitants for millennia. These myths should be quarrantined to history as human kind starts to break away from religious superstitions. Great Job…
SisyphusRocks

Sue – I don’t think we’re being too literal. We’re being pedantic, and we’re recognizing that words have power, and creationists and fundies manipulate words to great effect. They don’t get irony!
I’ll steal this comment from Matt B over at Dawkins.net, as it encapsulates my thoughts pretty well:

I have faith – we all do. For example, I have faith in the equations I haven’t fully derived and verified on my own that I use for my job. The difference is that it’s an informed faith. I have faith in them because they produce accurate results that are verified by consistent, measurable outcomes.

You probably have faith that when you apply the brakes, your car will slow down. That is not necessarily a guarantee.

Religious faith, on the other hand, is blind faith. I don’t have any of that. We can’t rely on those with blind faith to adhere to a dictionary definition of the word. Any theist without rational arguments or logical thinking on their side would quickly turn that around on us. Though they might be technically incorrect, their listeners would agree on an emotional (not intellectual) level. There is where the problem (as I see it) lies.

The one that I use is flight. When I get on an airplane, I trust 100+ years of mechanical engineering. I don’t know 100% how it works, but I know that there is science behind it. (I don’t sacrifice a goat to the sky-god prior to flying – thanks SGU!)
Josh

I really love it, but feel like I should say that I don’t approve of the ones with kids. I have to guess that they haven’t fully made up their minds yet and so shouldn’t be refered to in philosophical terms.

I love the idea, though. I try to share my thoughts at every opportunity, unless it would be inappropriate.(At a religious funeral for instance.)
Allison

Hi Josh (and all) – We are the family with the three kids on the board. Our intent was to show that we are raising good, happy kids who evaluate the world through a rational lens. Doesn’t mean there is no room for mystery or wonder in our lives – and certainly we are continually discovering new realities.

All parents imbue their children with their own philosophies and opinions – how can you not? But by teaching our kids how to use critical thinking skills, we are giving them perhaps the most valuable gift we can – the ability to assess any situation in their future (including revisiting what we’ve taught them) so they can make informed and rational decisions.

We did choose the word “humanist” instead of “atheist” for our board, as I think the “A word” immediately puts up walls that impede any hope of dialogue or communication with folks who hold a negative view of us.
Think a Minute

You guys are so funny! “Reason over dogma.. Always!” That’s not dogmatic at all… Huh? It’s like saying “we’re going to take a stand against taking a stand”. Do any of you ever stop to think “I wonder if what I’m about to say is totally self contradictory” ? Yes, reasoning is good. Come on people. Let’s do some. Y’all are smarter than that. Think a minute.
Thin A Minute

Allison,Josh: help me here. “teach our kids critical thinking skills” Nice objective. I agree with you. But critical thinking means you compare something to something else, right? Like say a truth claim, you compare a truth claim against reality. Great! We’re on to something here! But what’s real? Did you say that you’re continually discovering new realities? Then how can you know that what you think is real is really real? Maybe you’re living in a previous reality and just haven’t discovered it yet. It’s possible, right? Well then how can you critically think? What’s your reference point? What are you comparing the thought that you’re critically thinking about to? The reality that you’re in now or the one that just past or the one that you’re going to discover in June. Help me folks. I’m struggling. I want to join your group but you’ve got to give me something that makes some sense. Ok?
David W

To “Thin a Minute”. As Allison’s husband, I think I can answer this. We take the approach that science takes, and we base our view of reality on the best available information. When new information comes along, we re-assess our evaluation. Thus we base our reasoning on the best possible information available to us – which is the limit of what we humans are capable of.

If you are struggling for an ultimate truth then atheism is not for you. That is what religion is for. It offers ultimate truth. Only trouble is, it is based on ZERO data.

Atheism, like science, is not a certainty – it is only the best answer we have with data available to us. However, that is far more powerful than complete certainty based on no data.
Think A Minute

David W: we both make our decisions based on the best available information. We both use the DATA.
The DATA is there for you and me. We both have the cosmos data, both have the DNA data, both have the cell data, both have the fossil data. But data doesn’t talk. There’s no information in data. The meaning assigned to the data comes from the interpretation of that data. We have the same data, you and I. But we interpret it differently based on our presuppositions. You and I both bring presuppositions to the data. It’s just that you deny yours and I admit mine.
As for ultimate truth, you and I are also the same. You have ultimate truth. Without ultimate truth, why are you responding to my messages to you? Indeed, without truth, why utter another word… ever. Yes you have ultimate truth. And so do I. It’s just that you deny yours and I admit mine.
Let’s be honest. You can’t know there is no God and I can’t prove there IS one. But one thing I do know because the data is in. I exist. And since I didn’t create myself (please don’t disappoint me with the spontaneous generation argument, I’ll lose all my respect for you) I have to say “Hmmm… how in tarnation did I get here?”
hoverfrog

Think A Minute

You have ultimate truth.

I don’t. I don’t even what you mean by “ultimate truth”. Maybe I should ask a Buddhist?

Without ultimate truth, why are you responding to my messages to you? Indeed, without truth, why utter another word… ever.

What a strange thing to say.

Let’s be honest. You can’t know there is no God and I can’t prove there IS one.

Let’s be honest, neither of us can know that there is or isn’t a god and neither of us can prove that there is or isn’t one or more. Given that we don’t know that there is a god and no evidence supports their existence then why do you believe in them?
Think A Minute

Haver:
Ultimate truth is true for everyone all the time independent of circumstances. For example, when someone says “I [personally] don’t know what ultimate truth is.” That’s NOT an ultimate truth. But if someone says “There IS no ultimate truth” they are stating an ultimate truth. In other words they’re contradicting themselves. You wouldn’t do that – would you?

No evidence? We’ve been over this. I have all the same evidence (data) that you have. You bring your presupposition that there is no God, and I bring my presupposition that there IS a God. Remember, facts can’t talk. The only meaning one can assign to evidence is via the *interpretation* of that evidence. To me the evidence that there IS a God is that “I EXIST” and that I didn’t create myself. To you, that you exist remains a mystery that you refuse to answer. So you try to convince yourself to stop thinking (with great success). Though it constantly gnaws at you, you won’t admit it to anyone, not even to yourself.
We’re the same in the evidence department. It’s just that you pretend that you don’t bring your presuppositions to the evidence where I admit that I do. I’m encouraging you to come clean with yourself that you decided that there is no God *a priori*. It’ll be quite liberating. Giver ‘er a try.
hoverfrog

Thunk. Would you please define what you mean by “ultimate truth”. I honestly haven’t a clue what you’re on about.

You bring your presupposition that there is no God, and I bring my presupposition that there IS a God.

No. I bring no presuppositions about the existence of gods. I don’t know what is meant by the term. It just doesn’t make sense to me. As such I leave the question of gods open for people who do have a definition for gods to provide one.

To me the evidence that there IS a God is that “I EXIST” and that I didn’t create myself.

I suggest you read up on human biology. Your existence isn’t a gordian knot to untie, it is quite straightforward.

To you, that you exist remains a mystery that you refuse to answer.

Please do me the courtesy of not telling me what I think and I’ll reciprocate by not telling you what you think.

I think that your assumption that you take gods’ existence as a priori has confused you into believing that others who don’t hold the same opinion are also making an a priori assumption. Try to imagine a world where some people weren’t raised with the assumption of gods existing. No church, no parents talking about gods, no mention of gods at school. Why should I form an opinion about gods one way or another?

Your assumptions show your bias. Try to lok past that.
Think A Minute

“Thunk” I like that…
Let’s see… ultimate truth. How about some examples to help you understand. Here’s one: “free thinking moves America forward”. Or “Reason should take precedence over dogma”. One more: “The path to truth is science and reason”. Those are all absolute or universal (ultimate) truths. Have you ever heard of those sayings or seen them anywhere? I understand some folks are proclaiming them as absolutely true statements.

About presuppositions: some atheists (not you since I don’t know what you think) state that it is universally true that there is no God. The person “presupposes” that there is no God BEFORE all the evidence is in. Of course no one can make a statement like that because he hasn’t checked every corner of the universe to see if God is hiding there. It is an “a priori” claim because he makes it PRIOR to all the evidence being in. Remember the evidence thing that y’all have been blogging about? It’s not all in. They haven’t collected it all yet. There still are some corners of the universe that haven’t been checked. We can’t say “there is no God” because we don’t know that yet. Are you with me?

The best a thinking person can do is say “I Don’t Know if there’s a God”. That is perfectly logical to say. But he can’t say there IS no God. Do you understand that? He would have to know everything there is to know about the universe to make that statement.

What about biology? It’s the study of the human body. I took plenty of it in school. I didn’t do very well in it so maybe you can teach me. But I can’t remember my prof explaining to me how I got here. He just said “now that you’re here, let’s talk about what’s inside. Hoverfrog: I know you understand the difference between the study of the human body and knowing where it came from. Please don’t say evolution because evolution does not say how life began. It picks up where life already has been started.

I’m taking you deep now, stay with me here: some people can’t explain where life came from but they say there’s no God. How do they know that? We’ve already agreed (I hope) that no one can say there’s no God with any certainty. You’re wrong about me believeing what I believe a priori. I waited for the evidence to come in. Here it is ”I exist and I didn’t create myself”. That’s it! The evidence for a God is that I exist and I didn’t create myself. What evidence do you have that there is NO God? That you haven’t found him yet? That’s pretty poor. I haven’t found a lot of things yet. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

Here’s the thing: You can’t explain why I shouldn’t believe in God (except to say you haven’t found him). But I CAN explain why you SHOULD believe. You see – once you say “I exist” then you’re there. You immediately are compelled to say there might be a God.
hoverfrog

Think A Minute

Let’s see… ultimate truth….I understand some folks are proclaiming them as absolutely true statements.

I don’t believe that anyone is claiming that these are absolute truths.

About presuppositions: some atheists … state that it is universally true that there is no God.

Do they really? I think that you are getting mixed up with statements that profess opinion or fact as far as we can tell with confirmed statements of fact. “As far as we can tell there are no gods” equates to “there are no gods” in common parlance. I’m sure you can understand this.

We can’t say “there is no God” because we don’t know that yet. Are you with me?

Equally you can’t say that there is a god without all of the evidence. Are you with me?

The best a thinking person can do is say “I Don’t Know if there’s a God”. That is perfectly logical to say. But he can’t say there IS no God. Do you understand that? He would have to know everything there is to know about the universe to make that statement.

I think that I see the problem now. You’re confused as to what “atheism” means. You seem to think that it is an absolute statement that there are no gods. Atheism is a statement of belief, really a statement fo non-belief. It is an answer to the question “do you believe in God or gods?” rather than the question “do gods exist?”. I don’t know if gods exist. I do not believe that they do or that “gods” are even a sensible thing to consider.

You do understand that “theism” works in the same way, don’t you?

I can’t remember my prof explaining to me how I got here. He just said “now that you’re here, let’s talk about what’s inside. Hoverfrog: I know you understand the difference between the study of the human body and knowing where it came from.

How “you” got here is quite simple. Maybe you should sit your mummy and daddy down and get them to explain the birds and the bees to you.

Please don’t say evolution because evolution does not say how life began. It picks up where life already has been started.

Evolution does explain how we, as a species, got here. What it doesn’t explain is how life began. Is that what you are asking? You really need to be clear in your questions.

I’m taking you deep now, stay with me here

Easy tiger, not on a first date.

some people can’t explain where life came from but they say there’s no God. How do they know that?

The questions are unrelated. Gods don’t explain why life exists. If you think that they do then you really need to get that published.

I CAN explain why you SHOULD believe. You see – once you say “I exist” then you’re there. You immediately are compelled to say there might be a God.

Why? Don’t you think that this is a non sequitur? I do.
Amy Jones

Okay, so there are people who aren’t “believers.” Who cares? Why the need for billboards? People know that some believe and some don’t. BFD. Are you attention whores in need of a pat on the back?
“This is what a secular family looks like?” LOL Uhhh… yeah, so? It’s also what a religious family look like. WHO CARES?
How much money was spent on this campaign? Wouldn’t the thousands of dollars it took to put useless billboards up be better spent in helping others rather than yourselves? Perhaps the tsunami victims in Japan could have put that money to better use. The fact that no one thought of that makes me think you people are quite selfish.
Amy Jones

Did the tornadoes ruin any of your billboards?
Bob jones

God will help them…..dumb ass