History of the Atheist Bus Campaign - Ladybird edition

source: http://crispian-jago.blogspot.com/2009/12/ladybird-book-of-atheist-buses.html

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Atheist / Theist Bus

source: http://richarddawkins.net/article,3897,n,n

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Is God Dead? Or Just Not Riding the Bus?

by Steven Gray - Time

Thanks to LWS for the link.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1901301,00.html

Dangling from the sides of Chicago public buses in recent days: large signs bearing the slogan, "In the beginning, man created God."

Lo and behold, the atheist bus war that raged through London earlier this year has led to the opening of a front in the U.S. The Chicago ads were purchased this month (for a total of $5,000) by the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign.

Despite Chicago's abundance of trains, the Indiana group preferred to buy ads that would appear on the outside of buses. "That way, cars can see them. People on the sidewalks can see them, as the buses go zipping by," says Charlie Sitzes, 73, the group's spokesman. Apart from the predictable blogosphere chatter, Chicago has largely greeted the ads with a quick, curious look and then a shrug. While the media attention has drawn donations to the group from across the country, there are no plans to extend the ads' run beyond mid-June. "You don't have to shake the believer tree too hard to get a discussion going," Sitzes says, adding, "We've already won."
...
Click to continue reading
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1901301,00.html

This work by crabsallover is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Probably a ridiculous caveat - Atheist Bus

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/07/atheist-bus-atheism

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Probably a ridiculous caveat

If we have to say there 'probably' is no God, we must demand the use of 'allegedly' when promoting supernatural beings

Comments (473)

• 
• • AC Grayling
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 7 January 2009 15.30 GMT

When Ariane Sherine's brilliant initiative for an "atheist bus" campaign was in its planning stages, I wrote to her to say that I was not happy about the word "probably" in the slogan "There is probably no God".
I would question the rationality of anyone who thought that there is probably no Father Christmas, or probably no fairies at the bottom of the garden, etcetera, and since such beliefs and beliefs in the gods of Olympus and Ararat and all other religions are on a par, there is no "probably" about it. To which Sherine replied that the advertisement would not be accepted by the bus companies unless it contained the word "probably".

According to Tim Bleakley, marketing director of CBS Outdoor, which handles advertising for the bus networks, "advertising guidelines" require the word "probably"; to say that there is no God, he said, "would be misleading … So as not to fall foul of the code, you have to acknowledge that there is a grey area".
It would be misleading, eh? Thus the metaphysical authority of advertisers. You have to take your hat off to this one. If one wished to cite a better example of insidiousness, pusillanimity, timidity and absurdity, you would be hard pressed. There is something delicious about the thought of a functionary in an advertising agency doing ontology by arbitrating on the question of which fictional characters need a grey area of uncertainty around discussion of their existence – Little Red Riding Hood? Rumpelstiltskin? Santa? Betty Boop? Saint Veronica (who allegedly started out as sweat on a cloth and became a person)? Aphrodite? Wotan? Batman?

And of course the inevitable has immediately happened. Theos, the religious "think" tank, clutching at straws, claims that the word "probably" might encourage some to take the slogan to mean the opposite of what it is intended to mean. Such is the way with theology.

But give a nanometer to the ever-hopeful faithful – hope being a virtue after all – and they will take ten thousand miles, bringing with them on the journey all the things for which religion is so notable, from fantasy through folly to febrility and fanaticism.

Well: let us for a moment take the advertising standards code seriously. Parity requires that in all the many advertisements promoting religious belief on the buses and underground trains, "allegedly" be inserted into claims and statements that imply the existence of supernatural agencies. Now that the gauntlet has been thrown down on "probably" for the atheist buses, let us demand that "allegedly" appear in all advertisements promoting the opposite view. 

I shall be writing to Tim Bleakley (CBS Outdoor, Camden Wharf, 28 Jamestown Road, London NW1 7BY) and the Advertising Standards Authority on the subject today, and invite you all to do likewise.

Atheist Bus Ariane Sherine

Atheists launch bus ad campaign

via RichardDawkins

Ariane Sherine

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(Video from The Guardian)

Another video from the BBC (click to play)


http://twitter.com/AtheistBus has a listing of media and internet coverage of the campaign.

http://www.atheistbus.org.uk/bus-locations/ shows a map of Britain with locations of buses.

The official campaign site invites spotters to send bus sightings in to photos@atheistbus.org.uk

The Official Atheist Bus Campaign Website: http://www.atheistbus.org.uk/

Photos from the launch


More on Flickr

T-Shirts!

(Proceeds go to the bus campaign)

The atheist bus journey
by Ariane Sherine, Guardian

Thanks to you we raised enough money to put ads on 800 buses across the UK, and the campaign has gone global

Today, thanks to many Cif readers, the overall total raised for the Atheist Bus Campaign stands at a truly overwhelming £135,000, breaking our original target of £5,500 by over 2400%. Given this unexpected amount, I'm very excited to tell you that 800 buses – instead of the 30 we were initially aiming for – are now rolling out across the UK with the slogan, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life", in locations all over England, Scotland and Wales, including Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, Cardiff, Devon, Leeds, Bristol and Aberdeen.

From today's launch, two hundred of the buses will run in London, because the campaign was originally started as a positive counter-response to the Jesus Said ads running on London buses in June 2008. These ads displayed the URL of a website which stated that non-Christians "will be condemned to everlasting separation from God and then you spend all eternity in torment in hell … Jesus spoke about this as a lake of fire prepared for the devil". Our rational slogan will hopefully reassure anyone who has been scared by this kind of evangelism.

In addition, we're running adverts on two further types of media. In my last Cif blog on the campaign, I asked Cif readers for ideas on alternative ways to spend the funds, and also for thoughts on different slogans. Commenters WoollyMindedLiberal, PaoloV and Catch22 suggested that we use quotes from famous freethinkers, and we've done just that: from Monday January 12, 1,000 tube cards will run on London Underground featuring atheist quotations from Douglas Adams, Albert Einstein, Emily Dickinson and Katharine Hepburn (see above), alongside the original campaign slogan.

An animated version of the slogan will also appear on two large LCD screens on Oxford Street (opposite Bond Street tube station), so that you can see the advert live without having to wait for an atheist bus. And, to thank all donors and show the strength of atheism in the UK, every ABC advertisement will contain the line "This advert was funded by public donations".

Amazingly, the campaign has now gone international. Spain's Union of Atheists and Freethinkers are launching buses across Barcelona today with a translation of our slogan, Italy's Union of Atheist, Agnostics and Rationalists are also planning to roll out atheist buses, while the American Humanist Association have been inspired to launch a campaign, and buses carrying their slogan "Why believe in a God? Just be good for goodness' sake" have now been running for over a month in Washington DC. Sadly, not every country has been so open to the idea: the Atheist Foundation of Australia tried to place the slogan "Atheism – celebrate reason" on buses, but were rejected by Australia's biggest outdoor advertising company.

The campaign's success is thanks to Cif and Cif readers. If Matt Seaton hadn't allowed me to run with the idea here, and so many of you hadn't been so enthusiastic about it and donated generously to it, it would never have happened. There may be further campaign developments, and the campaign website and Facebook group will be regularly updated with the latest news; but for now, I hope you enjoy seeing the adverts on the streets, and that they brighten these bleak January days just a little bit. As Charlie Brooker – one of the first people to donate to the Atheist Bus Campaign – says: "Public transport in Britain suggests there isn't a God anyway, but in case anyone hasn't noticed, or feels isolated for thinking such a thing, this campaign should help." I hope it does.

---

Atheists launch bus ad campaign by the BBC

An atheist advertising campaign has been launched on buses across Britain.

A fund-raising drive for the promotion, carrying the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life", raised more than £140,000.

The campaign, which will also feature on the Tube, is backed by the British Humanist Association and prominent atheist, Professor Richard Dawkins.

The Church of England said Christian faith allowed people to put their life into a "proper perspective".

A spokesman said: "We would defend the right of any group representing a religious or philosophical position to be able to promote that view through appropriate channels.

"However, Christian belief is not about worrying or not enjoying life."

Pressure group Christian Voice has questioned the campaign's effectiveness but the Methodist Church said it would be a "good thing if it gets people to engage with the deepest questions of life" and suggested it showed there was a "continued interest in God".

The advertisements will run on 200 bendy buses in London and 600 vehicles in England, Scotland and Wales.

The British Humanist Association said the buses carrying the slogan outside London would operate in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, York, Leeds, Newcastle, Dundee, Sheffield, Coventry, Devon, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Swansea, Newport, Rhondda, Bristol, Southampton, and Aberdeen.

'Exasperation'

Four posters featuring quotations from the likes of Douglas Adams, Albert Einstein, and Katharine Hepburn will also be placed at 1,000 London Underground locations.

The campaign was devised by comedy writer Ariane Sherine.

She was inspired to seek donations after objecting to a set of Christian advertisements on a bus.

When people went to a highlighted website address, they were told that whose who rejected God were condemned to spend all eternity to "torment in Hell".

Ms Sherine said she sought donations for a "reassuring" counter-advertisement.
She said: "I think there have been a lot of people out there who have been looking at evangelical advertisements and not saying anything and thinking that these advertisements have been approved and just shrugging it off.

"Now finally they have an opportunity to express this feeling of exasperation."

Professor Dawkins made a donation of £5,500 himself.

He said: "Across Britain we are used to being bombarded by religious interests, not just Christians but other religions as well...

"In the House of Lords we have bishops sitting as of right and we are still very much dominated by religious interests."

Other supporters at the launch of the poster campaign included philosopher A C Grayling, Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee, and Graham Linehan, co-writer of the Father Ted TV comedy series.

Also See:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5459138.ece
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/europe/07london.html?_r=2&ref=world (thanks to Quine)
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/06/atheist-bus-ads-roll.html

My Christmas message? There's probably no God by Polly Toynbee (President of Brit. Humanist Assoc.)

It is neither emotionally nor spiritually deficient to reject religions that seek to infantilise us with impossible beliefs

Comments (801)

• 
• • Polly Toynbee
  • The Guardian, Tuesday 23 December 2008
  • Article history

Antidisestablishmentarianism is on the march. Which is odd, considering there is only the faintest whiff of disestablishmentarianism to fight. The Archbishop of Canterbury set this hare running with his usual confused mumbling into his beard. To disestablish the church would be "by no means the end of the world", he said bravely. He hastened to add that he did not want the church sundered from the state right now. And he would oppose "secularists [boo, hiss] trying to push religion into the private sphere". This sent the Telegraph and Mail into a spin, claiming a devilish distestablishment plot on the Labour backbenches - though they could find only three usual suspects. These MPs say the likely move to end the 1701 Act of Settlement that bars Catholics from the throne will make an established church impossible.

more ....

There are probably lots of atheists out there

reposted from: http://www.suffolkhands.org.uk/node/901

There are probably lots of atheists out there

Nov 23, 2008

Since the Atheist Bus Campaign has made the headlines around the world, Christian organisations have been responding to its “There probably is no god” message. The Rev. Evan Cockshaw of the Evangelism and Outreach Team of Lichfield Diocese set up a new website, There Probably is a God, inviting believers to contribute their “stories of normal everyday people who aren't stupid, and haven't been brainwashed, but will talk honestly and openly about their experiences of the true and living God!”

Among others, P Z Myers, the biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, whose popular Pharyngula science blog frequently mocks religious nonsense of one sort or another, prompted hoots of derision by pointing out the silliness of these stories. It isn’t difficult. For example, the “evidence” includes such gems as “I believe in God because god is real, god makes a difference, god changes lives,” and “I believe in God because ... He's answered my prayers to the specifics countless number of times. I talked with Him this morning! God is an incredible promise keeper. He has kept all His promises to me.” (I wonder what they were?)

The Reverend’s site is a response to the Atheist Bus Campaign. Now there’s a response to his site – a parody called There Probably isn’t a God where atheists are invited to submit their reasons for not believing – “stories of normal everyday people who aren't stupid, and haven't been brainwashed into believing in supernatural beings.” Like the bus campaign website, it’s quickly attracted lots of contributions. Why not add yours?

No-God squad climb aboard the atheist bus

by Joan Bakewell, Times UK

The bus-funders are young people who feel that no one is listening to them

Advertising account executives must be green with envy; fundraisers must be tearing their hair. A young woman who writes sitcoms for a living came up with an idea around June, posted it on a comment-is-free website and saw it mushroom into something global. The idea of the atheist bus, which will bear the slogan “There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”, will not even leave the garages until January, but it has caught the popular imagination. More than that, it has ruffled the feathers of established religious spokesmen, prompted tentative support from unlikely corners and even breached the citadel of religious broadcasting.

The results so far: by midday on Thursday there were 1,800 supportive comments on the blog site: they are often offbeat and full of good humour: “I'm sending a tenner because no one thanked the farmers at my son's harvest festival.” £83,000 has already been pledged, with offers pouring in from as far afield as Russia, Chicago, New Mexico, New Zealand and Ohio. As Ariane, the idea's begetter, says: “The sky's the limit - except, of course, there's nothing up there.”

There have been calls to spread the message to Ireland, Spain, Manchester, the US, Cardiff, Australia and Wales ... Manchester again ... and less hopefully to Kabul and Alaska. There are some surprising contributors: The Christian think-tank Theos has donated £50 in the belief that talking about God is a good thing and there is no such thing as bad publicity. The notion has even broken into the sacred minutes of the Radio 4 spot Thought for the Day, which has been locked in conflict with the British Humanist Society for what seems years. One bright idea from a 28-year-old woman and the atheist bus makes it on to the programme. 

 

Not since Going to Work on an Egg has an advertising initiative made such an impact, and for so little cost.

Yet as advertising copywriting the slogan doesn't really cut the mustard. It has no lilt, no rhymes, no wordplay. And that word “probably” has opened a can of worms. Many bloggers have asked simply “why 'probably'?” “Probably” was what they worried over most. It's said that Richard Dawkins, who is contributing some £5,000, favoured the phrase “almost certainly”. Another contributor explains that “in science nothing has certainty, only statistical probability”. I can see the copywriters chewing their pens over that one. So "probably" stays. There are other reasons, too. Yesterday in her blog Ariane explained that inserting the word helped to avoid breaching the Advertising Standards Authority rules.

Meanwhile, in the same week a government minister, Phil Woolas - three weeks ago appointed Immigation Minister - speculated in a Times interview that within 50 years or so the Church of England will have lost the special position it holds at the heart of the country's life. He suggested that in any reform of the House of Lords the privileged position of the 26 Lords Temporal - the C of E bishops - would be up for consideration. The Church's disestablishment was suddenly within a lifetime's prospect.

This is exactly where the light-hearted atheist's campaign intersects with national affairs.

It has been obvious over recent years that well-funded religious lobbies have been bringing their influence to bear on a government legislative programme that includes considerations of abortion and the matter of assisted dying. In accordance with their specifically devout beliefs, such groups are able to challenge and defeat legislation that many of us would like to see liberalised. The unelected bishops in the House of Lords rise to speak against such moves as Lord Joffe's Bill to legalise assisted dying.

So what is the atheist bus achieving? First, it establishes a sense of solidarity among those who see religious sentiments carrying the day simply because they are well organised and well funded. From the tone of their blogs the bus-funders are often young people who feel that no one is listening to them. Now they are at least being heard.

Its second achievement is to convey the fact that atheists believe in something rather than nothing. It is a canard of the religious to suggest that atheism is an absence, a void, a moral vacuum. It is no such thing. It constitutes a body of belief in humanity and its virtues. A lack of faith and the decline of religion are often blamed for the current evils of society. Those without belief in God want it to be known that they have as strong a moral framework as those who follow ancient biblical texts and commandments laid down long ago by desert tribes. It is not an unreasonable thing to expect, and the bus is perhaps a jokey way of saying so.

So what next? There is money to spare already beyond the original plans of the organisers. Perhaps there will be billboards around the country. Stephen Green of Christian Voice predicts that such displays will be covered in graffiti. As he dares to declare: “People don't like being preached at”!

My own fear is that while this has started in a gentle and unconfrontational way, it may fuel the notion that people have to be antagonistic to those of other faiths. While it is spoken in the mood of live and let live, I am apprehensive that it may be seen by others as a move in the battle of faith-versus-science. Theology in all its centuries-old intricacies and science with its blossoming insights are both far too subtle to allow of such clichés.

The wheels on the bus go round and round and round and round!

The wheels on the bus go round and round and round and round!
The Atheist Bus Campaign is driving along at full tilt. Donations are pouring in, as are the phone calls from newspapers, sales pitches from ad agencies, and emails from everyone who's ever had a worldview!
As always, we want and expect feedback especially from our members and supporters. Every policy decision and campaign announcement receives some praise and some criticism. There are two things that are special about the feedback on this campaign (both from the public and from our members and supporters). First is how much of it there is! Second is that it is overwhelmingly positive.
Some comments from members and supporters in response to the e-bulletin on Tuesday:
" "Fantastic!! Cheque in the post!!"
" "Congratulations ! I'm distressed to see the puerile ads going out in the name of religion. Whatever it means to any of us,it is great to have an alternative getting publicity."
" "Please can we have this message on our buses in Sheffield too! It's not just about money, it's about visibility and standing up against all this religious crap which seems to be everywhere you turn these days!"
" "Wanna spread a message of comfort and joy to your fellow man? Then join this incredible campaign that grows and grows every time you press the refresh button."
" "Brilliant. Well done." - one of our Distinguished Supporters
" "Thank you for the report on the Atheist Bus. Well done to everyone."
" "People who didn't know about this … have been amazed at how fast the money's pouring in. A couple of the comments I've had are, "Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Bloody marvellous :-)", and "Brilliant!"" - one of our Local Group leaders.
" "This is an excellent campaign idea and I'm glad it's received so much publicity."
" "What a brilliant response! Excellent publicity for BHA. Will it be on News? Can we have regular updates on BHA website please about nationwide/worldwide response?"
" "It is wonderful that you are supporting the bendy bus campaign which will help bring more people to belief."
" "What a brilliant idea---and one for which the world was undoubtedly waiting .Here's to the humanist elbow getting their bus borne message to Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham and Tipperary too." - Another of our Distinguished Supporters
" "Worthwhile so I jumped on board"
We could go on!
Of course there are always some critical comments. There have been numerous suggestions for changes to the wording, major and minor. We appreciate all this feedback, but there would never, ever be a slogan which everyone would be entirely happy with, and everyone who has their own ideas seems to feel that their modification is the only one that would need to be made! One person offers an idea because they think we should be less "presumptious", another suggests that the slogan is already too "soft"! One person says they're agnostic and it's too atheistic, another says that "probably" isn't sure enough of itself! So, in reality, we have hopefully found a balance between the possible "routes" that this bus could have taken, and it's reassuring that despite a handful of criticisms of the negative beginning to the statement ("There's probably no God") the overall message is laidback, positive, and refreshing.
More than half the number of members who join the BHA in a usual month, joined in a single day between Tuesday and Wednesday! It seems that, quibbles aside, Ariane's advert has tapped into an undercurrent of thought which wants to shrug in the face of religious slogans.
Thank you for all your support.

'Probably' the best atheist bus campaign ever

by Ariane Sherine, guardian.co.uk

Thank you! Now you've made the campaign such an extraordinary success, we all need to think about what to do next

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to the atheist bus campaign. 

 

As I write this, the total has just broken £83,000 (without Gift Aid) – a truly amazing amount to raise in just two days 

 

(even the donation website, JustGiving, told us they've never experienced this much support for a campaign before!). You've helped us hit the national news headlines, give atheists more of a voice, and generate debate on TV, radio and newspapers throughout the world. It couldn't have happened without you, and we're extremely grateful for all your support.

There's been an exciting level of debate about the campaign. Lots of you have asked why the word "probably" is included in the ad slogan, and stated that you'd prefer the wording to read "There's no God". While I fully understand this view, there's a vital reason for the "probably"'s inclusion: as with the Carlsberg ads, it's likely to get us around the advertising regulations (specifically points 3.1, 3.2, 5.1, 8.1, 9.1 and 11.1 in the general rules of the CAP Code, which regulates non-broadcast adverts in the UK). In my view, neither version of the slogan breaches the code, but CAP has advised that "the inclusion of the word 'probably' makes it less likely to cause offence, and therefore be in breach of the Advertising Code."

There's another reason I'm keen on the "probably": it means the slogan is more accurate, as even though there's no scientific evidence at all for God's existence, it's also impossible to prove that God doesn't exist (or that anything doesn't). As Richard Dawkins states in The God Delusion, saying "there's no God" is taking a "faith" position. He writes: "Atheists do not have faith; and reason alone could not propel one to total conviction that anything definitely does not exist". His choice of words in the book is "almost certainly"; but while this is closer to what most atheists believe, "probably" is shorter and catchier, which is helpful for advertising. I also think the word is more lighthearted, and somehow makes the message more positive.

Many people have asked how the extra funds are going to be used. While everyone on the campaign team is elated at the amount raised, we genuinely never expected the campaign to skyrocket like this, and had only planned to use any extra money to buy small ads inside buses. We're hoping to run the campaign throughout the UK, but outside London we may have to think about using billboards and trains instead of buses, since the company Stagecoach runs many regional bus services and may not accept our adverts as its owner, Brian Souter, is an evangelical Christian.

Whatever happens, every penny of the total is going directly towards the atheist adverts. If you have an innovative idea about how we could advertise more effectively outside London, an atheist advertising slogan you like which we could use in future campaigns, or a thought about where we should take the campaign from here, please let us know – we'll read every comment.

Lastly, thank you once again to everyone who has given to the campaign, commented in a debate, blogged about it, linked to a site or story about it, joined the Facebook group, forwarded links to friends, or posted a funny, kind or supportive comment on the JustGiving page. Atheists have truly pulled together to make ourselves heard, and it's exciting to imagine what we could achieve in the future. The sky's the limit, and as one comment on the donation page said: "I hope this is just the beginning."

To donate to the atheist bus campaign, please visit here.

Support AtheistCampaign.org - Atheist Bus Campaign

Thank you for supporting AtheistCampaign.org. We’re really pleased that you’re interested in helping. Below is a list of 10 ways you can help the Atheist Bus Campaign distribute reassurance and raise the profile of atheism in the UK:

DONATE

Donate to the campaign online - click here! The more adverts we’re able to run, the greater a difference we can make. All donations will be administered by the British Humanist Association and used directly to place ads on buses saying “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”, along with links to atheist websites.

LINK

Put an AtheistCampaign.org banner on your own website! Right-click one of the images below, choose ‘Save Image As’ and download it to your own computer. Alternatively click here to download all of the banners as a ZIPped file (152Kb).

EMAIL

Forward the donation link on to friends you think would be interested in supporting the campaign. Click here to do this quickly and easily.

JOIN

Join the Atheist Bus Campaign Facebook group. Here you can interact with other atheists, and we can let you know if there are any campaign updates. If you’re not a member of Facebook, you’ll have to set up a Facebook account before you can join.

SHARE

Click the “Share +” link in the top right of the main Facebook page. Post the link to your profile (you also have the option to add a comment). The group will then appear in your friends’ news feeds and on your minifeed and Posted Items, along with a photo of the atheist bus slogan.

SEND

Click the “Invite People To Join” link in the top right of the main Facebook group page. Tick the boxes next to the names of friends you think would be interested, and send them the invitation.

POST

Post a Facebook status update about the campaign, for example: “[your name] is supporting the Atheist Bus Campaign at [donation link].”

BLOG

Blog about the campaign. Explain why you’re supporting it, and link to the donation URL. You could also cut and paste this list into your blog post to encourage other people to help.

EXPLAIN

Explain to your friends and family that the majority of the UK’s population is non-religious, and yet their views are rarely visibly represented. If they’re interested in learning more, encourage them to join the British Humanist Association

TELL

Tell your friends in other towns, cities and countries about the Atheist Bus Campaign, and suggest that they set up a similar initiative where they live. The campaign is starting in London, but there’s no reason why it should be limited to London or the UK.

Thank you!

Atheist Bus Campaign

visit http://www.atheistcampaign.org

The Atheist Bus Campaign launches today, Tuesday October 21. With your support, we hope to raise £5,500 to run 30 buses across the capital for four weeks with the slogan: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Donate online now!

Professor Richard Dawkins, bestselling author of The God Delusion, is officially supporting the Atheist Bus Campaign, and has generously agreed to match all donations up to a maximum of £5,500, giving us a total of £11,000 if we reach the full amount – enough for a much bigger campaign. The British Humanist Association have kindly agreed to administer all donations.

With your help, we can brighten people’s days on the way to work, help raise awareness of atheism in the UK, and hopefully encourage more people to come out as atheists. We can also counter the religious adverts which are currently running on London buses, and help people think for themselves.

As Richard Dawkins says: “This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion.”