Today we have reached our target of $20,000 to put atheist messages on buses in the main centres of our fine country!
This is of course a direct result of the hundreds of generous individual donations and the thousands of supporters out there. You know who you are – thank you so much for getting this campaign on the road, literally.
We launched this campaign because there are lots of people out there who are unsure about this idea of god. Perhaps they grew up in religious homes and feel anxiety, or even fear, about threats such as hell, or choosing the wrong religious path. All of your donations will support this campaign to promote and reinforce the idea that it’s OK not to believe in a god, and that certainly one can be good without God. After all, more than 1.5 million Kiwis aren’t convinced by the claims of religion.
The campaign has also already started a healthy debate about the topics of god and religion and what role they play in our lives as individuals and as a society. No doubt this debate will continue and more people will come to think deeply about these topics.
We are currently planning when and how the ads will be rolled out onto buses across the country. News will be released here as soon as we have confirmed the details.
The donation system will remain live for the time being. Any donations beyond the $20,000 target will be put towards future atheist advertising campaigns. We have plans for future phases – possibly different slogans, different mediums. We thought this a better option than just closing donations, as to allow those who might have missed out the first time to donate still for the future.
Yesterday was a huge day for the campaign in media coverage, donations, and discussion online and on the radio. I’d like to throw out a big thank you to all those who donated and all those who emailed in positive messages of support, or suggestions for improving and expanding the campaign. Much appreciated!
Just to reiterate, our new target is $20,000. We’re nearly three quarters of the way there and still climbing!
Please continue to support/share the campaign on Facebook, on Twitter, and just by talking to friends and family about it. That is one of the main points after all – to raise awareness of atheism and humanism in NZ. To show that it’s perfectly fine to not believe in a deity and that you can be good without one.
Due to the amazing response so far, we have decided to double our initial target to $20,000 NZD and also place a cap on this new target. We intend to raise $20,000 or very near to this amount, and we will close off donations once we have reached this target.
This will of course double the original number of ads on buses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch! This works out to approximately 12 buses in Auckland, 8 in Wellington and 4 in Christchurch. The ads will stay on the buses for 4 weeks.
We decided this was the best way of dealing with an excess of donations, as opposed to using them for some other purpose. You all have donated to put atheist ads on buses, and that is what we will use the money for. As before, literally all donation money will be used for advertising – there are no administrative overheads. The Humanist Society of NZ has kindly offered to administrate and oversee the donation collection to ensure it conforms to financial standards.
I see at this point we are well over quarter of the way to the new target, and rapidly growing! Thank you again to all the donations. They will make a significant impact in promoting atheism, humanism and rational enquiry in NZ.
I’d like to thank everyone today for their donations. It’s been a steady stream of donations rolling in all day. Thanks heaps guys!
We’re over 5% of the way there, which is not bad at all for the first day. There are a number of media opportunities coming up over the next week or so that should spread the campaign to a wider audience. I’ll be sure to outline them here or on Twitter as and when they occur.
Our target is $10,000 for the initial ad run. That works out at approximately $900 per ad-on-a-bus, so we’ve nearly got one ad sorted…let’s go!
Following the positive spirit of the UK Campaign, this NZ version stands for the same basic principles and ideas: the promotion and expression of a secular humanist world view, and the affirmation that there is no need to believe in a supernatural being to live a full and rich life.
The campaign intends to promote debate on issues such as God, religion and religion’s influence on society. Religion should not be a taboo subject that no one brings up at dinner parties – we should be discussing what we believe and why. While New Zealand has a different religious environment than say, the United States, there are still issues to discuss and be aware of. For example, we have recently seen the rise of the radical Destiny Church, the deadly side of exorcisms, and there is the on-going debate of the validity of the tax-free status of modern churches. Further issues on the world stage also require discussion, such as news of the atrocities committed to children by Catholic priests in Ireland, and influence of fundamentalist Christianity and Islam across the world.
This campaign is about challenging people to think critically about their beliefs, and especially to think critically about how much control they give over their lives to a supernatural being for which there is no evidence.
To promote this message we intend to, initially at least, use the effective advertising medium of buses in New Zealand’s largest centres: Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The message on the buses will follow the example of the UK Campaign, with “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
We need your support to reach our fundraising goal of $10,000. All donations will go to advertising costs – no administrative overheads will be taken from donated money. The donations are kindly being administered by The Humanist Society of NZ. Please donate online through the donations link on the top-right of this page, or see the Support page for further donation options.
The New Zealand Atheist Bus Campaign plans to put ads carrying atheist and humanist messages on buses in major NZ cities, encouraging Kiwis to think critically about their beliefs.
Following the success of the original UK campaign and other campaigns around the world, a positive message of atheism and humanism will soon be travelling around on NZ buses.
Buses will feature the same slogan that was used in the UK campaign “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
The campaign will be entirely funded by donations from the public, with administrative support provided by the Humanist Society of New Zealand. People are able to make donations online at http://nogod.org.nz/.
“While New Zealand is by and large a very tolerant and inclusive society, there is still stigma associated with an atheistic position. At the same time we have recently seen the growing influence of radical religious groups such Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church. With this campaign we hope to encourage positive debate on these issues – religion should not be a taboo topic.” said campaign spokesperson Simon Fisher.
The Atheist Bus Campaign is designed to get people to think critically about their religious beliefs, and rationally about the world in general. The campaign promotes a positive humanist world view, and the affirmation that there is no need to believe in a supernatural being to live a full and rich life.
For further information about the campaign see the website at http://nogod.org.nz/.
If churches want the right "to influence public opinion and political decision making" then we must critique the foundations of their claims 2010-07-15
