Billboards
4.06.10 | simon | 
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You may have noticed that legal proceedings with NZ Bus are taking a while. We have too. The Office of Human Rights Proceedings is still reviewing our case, and we’ll update you with news on this matter as early as possible.
In the meantime, we all want to see atheist messages out there in public. To achieve this, we are spending approximately half the donated money – around $10,000 – on a billboard campaign, starting now. This amount will allow for billboards in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. There will also be funds allocated to relocation of these billboards, so that after being up in the main centres they can later be moved to smaller cities relatively cheaply. We’re pleased how the use of billboards allows us to advertise in smaller centres in this way, as so many people asked about this.
The remainder of the money will be saved (with tasty interest accruing) for either a bus campaign once the discrimination proceedings are finalised with NZ Bus, or to fund additional billboards.
We are also pleased to be able to address one of the other most discussed aspects of our campaign – the actual slogan. For the billboards we’ve decided to use new slogans, while retaining the original “No God” slogan as a logo for the campaign. The branding already built up around the “No God” slogan gives us a great opportunity to explore some other catchy phrases that express atheism and get people to stop and think.
But wait, there’s more! We want you to come up with slogans and then vote on the best ones to be used on billboards. Leave comments below on the blog, on the Facebook post, tweet us, or simply email us your ideas for new slogans.
There will also be a billboard generator set up soon so you can see a mock up of how your creation will look as a billboard. We’ll let you know when this is ready.
Here are some potential candidates to get y’all started…
- Over one-third of New Zealanders are good without God. You can be too. [or: Are you good without God? Over a million kiwis are.]
- We need God like a fish needs a bicycle.
- If there was a God, then one of his key mistakes was making me an Atheist. [paraphrased Gervais quote]
- Think Rationally. Accept Evidence. Reject Faith.
- Question everything, including pixies, leprechauns and God.
- We are all Atheists about most religions. Some of us just go one god further. Atheism
- Are you also Agnostic about the existence of Unicorns or Zeus? Get off the fence. Atheism
- When you understand why you dismiss other gods you will understand why I dismiss yours. Atheism
- To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today. – Isaac Asimov
- It will yet be the proud boast of women that they never contributed a line to the Bible. – George W. Foote
- Question with boldness even the existence of a god – Thomas Jefferson
- Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone.
- You can be good without God.
- Why believe in God? Just be good for goodness’ sake.
- In the beginning, Man created God.
Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with…go!
June 4th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Here’s one I quote like from a relativity (pun intended) smart man:
“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.”
– Albert Einstein, “Religion and Science,” New York Times Magazine, 9 November 1930
Really strips away any claim to “morality” that religion purports to have.
I moved from Wellington to Melbourne earlier this year and I was very pleased to see that there’s an active atheist movement here, complete with ads on trams.
June 4th, 2010 at 10:50 am
I actually just had another thought
“Religion needs you – you don’t need religion”
June 4th, 2010 at 11:02 am
We should completely stay away from anything that insults or pokes fun at other religions.
The most important thing about being an Atheist for me is to support everybody’s right to believe in what they want.
How about: “You have a God and I don’t, let’s be friends.”
I also think that one of the more important aspects of the campaign is to let Atheist know that we’ve got support so I really like: “Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone.”
June 4th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Really like that one Gwynn! Best of them all.
June 4th, 2010 at 11:06 am
You have both the comments, I see, Gwynn. I like both of them. The first one’s too long; “Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death” is enough.
June 4th, 2010 at 11:33 am
I like these two:
“There is not enough love and kindness in the world to give any of it away to imaginary beings.”
and
“The Christian resolution to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad.”
both by Friederich Nietzsche
June 4th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Good Move! Especially the fact that you can reuse them in the smaller centres. Now as far as the slogans go I like the following:
Question everything, including pixies, leprechauns and God. – Keeps it light & still thought provoking.
Are you good without God? Over a million Kiwi’s are. – Let’s Atheists know they are not alone in NZ
Are you also Agnostic about the existence of Unicorns or Zeus? Get off the fence. Atheism. – Might help push some Agnostics onto our side. As I personally started out as Agnostic before becoming an Atheist.
We are all Atheists about most religions. Some of us just go one God further. Atheism. – This is my personal favourite out of all the ones I have listed. Says it all really!
June 4th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
There’s nothing wrong with being Agnostic. Let’s not bully them into our point of view.
June 4th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
“Should you live by good morals due to the promise of a non-torturous afterlife? Or should you live by good morals simply because it is the right thing to do?”
June 4th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
There’s a very compelling case to be made that Atheism needs to put a more positive face forward to the world.
We have to overcome the fact that a lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea that there is no life after death. That there is no supreme diety or divine purpose to our being.
Ideally Atheism needs a double edged approach. On the one hand you have people like Dawkins, Hutchins and to a lesser extent Harris who are out there aggressively hacking away at the pedalstal religion has created for itself. They’re needed to get Atheism in the headlines and force people to confront these entrenched world views.
To follow this you also need a promotion of Atheism that enables people to realise that living without religious faith is a liberating experience. That it’s not about getting rid of familiar holidays like Christmas and Easter, but instead using these to focus on tangible things, like friends and family, rather than on bronze age idol worshoping.
We need to encourage the view that what counts is what you do with your life in the here and now, that reward and punishment exist in this life based on how you interact with society, not how a capricious diety interprets the motives of your actions.
And that death isn’t something to be feared, instead it should be the celebration of a life well lived and of the happiness you’ve endeavoured to bring to other people’s lives too. Eternal life is how you’re remembered after your death, not some etheral kingdom or fiery brimstone pit.
Atheism is about both the removing of cultural deadweight that has no place in a 21st century world, and creating a new cultural norm to allow us each to pursue happiness and meaning while respecting each other’s right to do so also.
June 4th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
I’m tempted to say I still like the original slogan (at least the first part) because it states the case clearly. It’s a shame at how the word “probably” opens an avenue for people to confuse things, even though I agree with it myself. I guess maybe it’s worth changing to make it even more clear.
I have to agree about the ideas that are directly derogatory to other religions, or which preach to people, or which make assumptions about how people treat their religion. (eg. Not all christians believe in hell.) I find it disrespectful when religions people preach and try to tell me what to think and do. I don’t want to do the same back to them. I’d rather just be asking that they respect me, and that I have a way of looking at things that’s at least as relevant as themselves. I like Keri’s ideas. (Especially the You Are Not Alone slogan.)
My personal belief about this campaign is that its main intent should be to get the message out that atheists exist, have points of view at least as relevant as organised religions, and that it’s okay to think rationally and be an atheist if one chooses… and that there’s a community out there for people who want it. For many people right now, the concept of there not being a god, or using rational thought to reach that idea, isn’t even possible to consider because families and peer groups absolutely alienate that idea, and sometimes threaten to alienate and reject the people who suggest it.
June 5th, 2010 at 9:08 am
God made me an atheist. Who are we to question his plan?
June 8th, 2010 at 11:10 am
One could have a look at the slogans used at the Melbourne Glbal Atheist Convention. The are available as a powerpont presentation Scrolling-quotes.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
“God is irrelevant in a scientifically advanced society.”
“If God made us all, atheists included, does that means it questions it’s own existence?”
June 9th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
“Science put man on the moon, Religion put plane(s) in buildings” – New billboard.
June 9th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Question:
Is the ‘one-third’ statistic derived from the census data on religion?
If so, there is a serious fallacy in interpreting the ‘no religion’ response as representing atheism or agnosticism. ‘No religion’ may simply indicate a lack of affiliation with organised religion, rather than absence of any spiritual beliefs.
Wouldn’t want to get into more legal troubles over false advertising!
Cheers
June 9th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
I’m religious and I think some of these slogans are better than others. Many are debatable or misconstrue most people’s faith and that annoys people.
If I wanted to get atheism across I’d use a slogan that didn’t get people’s back up or insult them or offend them.
I like these slogans, obviously I don’t agree with some of them and some are factual like “Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone.” but none of them are offensive but they make their point nicely –
Question with boldness even the existence of a god – Thomas Jefferson
Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone.
Over one-third of New Zealanders are good without God. You can be too.
You can be good without God.
Why believe in God? Just be good for goodness’ sake.
I think if you start to denigrate faith you will turn a lot of people off.
June 9th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Am rapt that the billboards are going ahead,.NZ Bus were cowed by the religious fanatics, who are used to getting their way & hate to be challenged about their right to indoctrinate the masses, most often starting the brain-washing on the young. We are all subjected to religious messages on a daily basis; hopefully the billboards will help those who been brainwashed from birth find their own path out of the world of fantasy and into the light of reality.
June 9th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
“Live now. Love now. Get it while you can.”
“Darwin’s existence can be proven”
“Capable of being good? Without hellfire?”
Love your work NZABC
June 9th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Thanks @Tessa. It’s silly to expect anyone to change their religious beliefs based on someone preaching at them, billboard or otherwise, and it’s rude to try. (I happily say this as an atheist.)
I think the best side of this campaign, which it’s already achieving despite not having actually spent any serious money, is getting the word out to people that there actually is such a thing as not believing in the supernatural, and making that concept visible to people who’ve never had an opportunity to consider it. It should be perfectly okay for individuals to question what might be imposed on them by families and peer groups, and it should be known (if it comes to this) that it’s actually okay to think about stuff and decide to be an atheist without having to feel alienated.
June 9th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Hmmm.. I’ve been trying to post the following on that TV3 news story but it’s not going through. (I’m not sure if it was lost in transit or if their moderator’s just gone to bed for the night.) It’s probably more relevant here anyway.
There’s a lot of trash coming through the billboard generator right now, but a few good ideas. I think it’s great to see people actually thinking about it.
I donated $20 to the campaign and I still think it was money well spent. What drew me to it is that religion is a really serious thing, no matter what side you take. For people who follow any particular religion it’s often the most important thing in their lives. People give their money and their lives’ work for religious reasons, some people go as far as killing themselves and others strictly for their religious beliefs. (No I’m not trying to tar anyone in particular.) Nearly every major war is either about religion, or makes use of religion to manipulate people.
Religion decides how people see the world and other people. It affects how they interact with those around them, and often the influence others have on them. People *should* seriously think about *why* they have their religious beliefs, and it’s to everyone’s benefit that people aren’t just inheriting ideas from their parents or being pressured by peers, which is all to often what happens.
Everyone should also know (and this is the most important part for me with the campaign) that if they *don’t* want to go along with their family and peers, then there are others out there in a similar situation, and it’s okay to not believe in a god or anything supernatural whatsoever.
June 9th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Here is some evidence of the “1/3 of New Zealanders don’t believe in god”
This graphic (from New Zealand’s online enclycopedia) is great evidence of the “at least 1 million” number:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/atheism-and-secularism/3/1
it shows about 1/3 of New Zealanders declaring “no religion”.
June 9th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Tim,
I think you missed the point. The census data on religion simply can’t be interpreted that simplistically. ‘No religion’ is not equivalent to ‘don’t believe in God’.
In fact, the very page you linked to makes this point underneath the graph:
“There are problems with using religious affiliation as a measure of belief … some who ticked no religion do believe in God.”
If the ‘one-third’ claim is based on this census data then its completely inaccurate.
June 9th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Agree with Scott here. Mind you a census declaration of a religion is not the same as believing in gods either. It can be about community or inheritance.
However, isn’t there a seperate survey (done by someone at Massey) which does go into belief? I think Te Ara has a link.
June 9th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
That’s true Ken, it cuts both ways. There was a survey in 1985 which showed 1/4 of people ticking ‘no religion’ still believed in God, while 1/3 of Methodists didn’t!
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/atheism-and-secularism/3
The reporting I’ve seen of the Massey survey (part of the International Social Survey 2008) has been pretty piece-meal. Often there is no differentiation between ‘don’t believe in God’ and ‘agnostic’ (we can’t know) and ‘undecided’ or ‘no opinion’.
June 10th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
From that Massey survey – Religion in New Zealand.
“Most New Zealanders (just over 50%) believe in God, though half of these people have some doubts; about 20% do not believe in a personal God but believe in a higher power of some kind, while 30% either do not believe in God or do not know if there is one.”
It strikes me that one way to be more accurate and perhaps less antagonistic is to refer to religion rather than belief in gods.
Eg:
“Be good without religion – a third of New Zealanders are.”
This reminds people that a large number of people have no religion. And the real bitch is not so much with what people believe but the privileges accorded religion. That is a human rights issue.
June 10th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
So 72% believe in ‘God’ or a higher power
15% are Agnostic
and 13% are Atheist
(with a 3% margin of error)
The thing about referring to religion (‘be good without religion’) is that it’s an atheist bus campaign. That’s how its been advertised. The phrase ‘there’s probably no God’ does not represent an agnostic position, let alone a non-religious theist position.
June 11th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
I think it is more important to emphasize that we are more against religion than belief in God. If someone wants to believe in god, let them. It is only religion that teaches hateful doctrine, and that is what we should try to get rid of.
There are a few people out there who truly believe in God, but do not affiliate with any religion, as showed above with the whole debate on whether or not the statistics are correct. So it is a great thing that the non-religious group is increasing not only in NZ but in many other parts of the world as well, regardless of their belief in a god.
I think it would be a better idea to have slogans like
“A million Kiwis are good without religion, are you?”
or
“People are often good despite religion”
and so on…
June 11th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
I just read Scott M’s comment and realized that he mentioned the same thing as I have stated right after him. I agree with him. We need to represent a much broader group of people.
June 11th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Wahid,
My point was that the campaign can’t claim represent the broader group. It’s too late because it’s already the ‘atheist’ bus campaign.