Today we launch the New Zealand Atheist Bus Campaign!

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/.

ENDS