Atheists combat religion on bendy buses

Tuesday, 21 October 2008 12:14 PM

Londoners fearing eternal damnation could receive reassurance from the city's bendy buses as an atheist advertising campaign gets underway.

The Atheist Bus Campaign follows a six-week fundraising effort in which nearly 1,000 people pledged money to counter what they say is an unfair pro-religion bias in the advertising world.

In addition to the 877 who pledged £5 of online activism the British Humanist Association and The God Delusion author Professor Richard Dawkins have also contributed to the £11,000 needed.

Campaigners have raised enough for two bendy buses to drive across Westminster for four weeks, carrying an advertisement with the slogan: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

"Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride - automatic tax breaks, unearned 'respect' and the right not to be 'offended', the right to brainwash children," Professor Dawkins said.

"Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side. This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion."

His outspoken comments are backed by BHA chief executive Hanne Stinson, who said the advert would be welcomed as a "breath of fresh air" by many.

"If it raises a smile as well as making people think, so much the better."

CBS Outdoor, the bus advertising company, has said it will run the ads in January if the money is raised.

Tags:
• domestic policy
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• london
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• london government
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• religion