Passionate atheists are taking to the streets with their message in an effort to “transform” the U.S.
A California coalition of self-proclaimed “nontheists” has launched a billboard campaign aimed at the hearts and minds of Americans, part of a growing movement among atheist groups to proselytize on the roadside and reach out to fellow nonbelievers.
The coalition, Inland Empire Coalition of Reason, spent $6,500 on a billboard in Riverside, Calif., as a formal launch of their new group. The sign, which will be up for four weeks, reads, “Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone.”
United Coalition of Reason, a national D.C. based group that helped fund the project, touted the billboard as one of many examples of their message spreading the “nontheist” message across the nation. “Nontheist” is a term meant to encompass atheist, agnostic, humanist, skeptic, secularist and other self-identifiers that reject religion.
The group focuses mainly on reaching out to nontheists rather than attacking religion.
United COR National Coordinator Jason Heap estimates that nontheist groups have spent more than half a million dollars to put up well over a hundred billboards since 2009. The national group has launched 62 similar campaigns in 39 states and D.C.
“I do hope to transform America; it is a country that I love dearly,” Heap told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Another United COR billboard in Tulsa, Okla., read “Are you good without God? Millions are.”
United COR partners with a cluster of atheistic groups in a certain region and builds a community and hopefully helping fund a billboard in their area. They also raise awareness and do community service.
United COR has over 80 local coalitions with more than 700 groups. Heap says the campaign shows no signs of slowing down.
“The point of our national awareness effort is to reach out to the millions of humanists, atheists and agnostics living in the United States,” Heap said in a statement. “Nontheists sometimes don’t realize there’s a community for them because they’re inundated with theistic messages at every turn. So we hope our effort will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren’t alone.”
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