Buses with the slogan "There's probably no god" will soon be running on the streets of London. The posters are the idea of the British Humanist Association and have been supported by prominent atheist Richard Dawkins. Now the American Humanist Association has announced that atheist slogans will be blazoned on over 200 Washington DC buses.

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. 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. — Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion

The British Humanist Association aims to have London buses carrying the signs for four weeks. Organisers say that the campaign aims to counter religious ads running on public transport, some of which are linked to a website telling non-Christians they will spend "all eternity in torment in hell", burning in "a lake of fire". Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the BHA, said: "We see so many posters advertising salvation through Jesus or threatening us with eternal damnation, that I feel sure that a bus advert like this will be welcomed as a breath of fresh air. If it raises a smile as well as making people think, so much the better."

There's no doubt that advertising can be effective, and religious advertising works particularly well on those who are vulnerable, frightening them into believing. Religious organisations' jobs are made easier because there's no publicly visible counter-view to refute their threats of eternal damnation. The Atheist Bus Campaign aims to change this. — Ariane Sherine, campaign supporter

In the first ad campaign of its kind in the United States, the American Humanist Association is planning to raise public awareness of humanism by plastering Washington DC buses with the slogan "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake." "Humanists have always understood that you don't need a god to be good," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "So that's the point we're making with this advertising campaign. Morality doesn't come from religion. It's a set of values embraced by individuals and society based on empathy, fairness, and experience." "Some folks may be offended but that isn't our purpose. We just want to reach those open to this message but unaware how widespread their views are," said Fred Edwords, director of communications for the AHA. The "goodness' sake" posters direct people to a web site that informs the public about humanism and answers common objections to the slogan as well as to the appropriateness of running the campaign during the holidays.

A Freedom From Religion Foundation billboard in Rancho Cucamonga asking viewers to "Imagine No Religion" was taken down after residents and the city complained about its message. While the Foundation has encountered billboard companies unwilling to lease boards in several locations, this is the first time one of its billboards has been removed after going up.

The billboard carries the Foundation's name and website, along with the John Lennon-esque statement, against a stained-glass window background. Foundation co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor commented: "Are religionists so thin-skinned they must squelch free debate? One small freethought billboard in the immense state of California is such a threat to insecure religious egos that it must be censored?"

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The God Delusion: Richard Dawkins In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins presents a hard-hitting, impassioned rebuttal of religion of all types. As the author of many, now famous, classic works on science and philosophy, Dawkins has always asserted the irrationality of belief in God. Dawkins attacks God in all his forms, from the "sex-obsessed, cruel tyrant of the Old Testament" to the more benign, but still "illogical, Celestial Watchmaker favoured by some Enlightenment thinkers". He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the "supreme improbability" of a supreme being. "Everyone should read it. Aethists will love Mr Dawkins's incisive logic and rapier wit and theists will find few better tests of the robustness of their faith." — The Economist USA UK

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything Christopher Hitchens delivers another in the recent rash of atheist manifestos. The same contrarian spirit that makes him delightful reading as a political commentator, even (or especially) when he's completely wrong, makes him an entertaining huckster prosecutor once he has God placed in the dock. Hitchens's one-liners bear the marks of considerable sparring practice with believers. Yet few believers will recognize themselves as Hitchens associates all of them for all time with the worst of history's theocratic and inquisitional moments. The book's real strength is Hitchens's on-the-ground glimpses of religion's worst face in various war zones and isolated despotic regimes. But its weakness is its almost fanatical insistence that religion poisons "everything," which tips over into barely disguised misanthropy. USA UK

Letter to a Christian Nation: Sam Harris Modern religions serve many social goods such as health care for the poor. The problem is that it also services many reprehensible ideas. Sam Harris blows the whistle, pointing out the religions of the world are based on human generated vengeful stories. Harris fearlessly describes a moral and intellectual emergency precipitated by religious fantasies – misguided beliefs that create suffering, that rationalize violence, that have endangered our nation and our future. His argument for the morality, the honesty, and the humility of atheism is galvanizing. It is a relief that someone has spoken so frankly, with such passion yet such rationality. Please buy two, one for you and one for a friend you care about. USA UK

In his new book Guy Harrison details such reasons for god-belief as the obviousness of God, "playing it safe," the fear of hell, that belief in gods brings genuine happiness and comforts, and the fact that so many people are religious. 50 Reasons People Give For Believing In A God

Christianity is based on the stories and claims of the Bible. If the Bible is not largely accurate history, then Christianity has no foundation. Thus, either the Bible is dependable, historical truth or Christianity is just superstitious mumbo-jumbo. The Bible: Primitive Nonsense?

Albert Einstein is best known for his theories of relativity and for his famous equation that describes the equivalence of mass and energy, but his thoughts on religion have long attracted conjecture. His position on God has been widely misrepresented by people on both sides of the atheism/religion divide. Einstein and God

Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life has sold more than 25 million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. Until now, its premises have gone largely unchallenged by mainstream Christians. Former Baptist pastor Robert Price offers the first parody and critique of Warren's bestseller. The Reason Driven Life: What Am I Here on Earth For?

Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate? These are the questions at the heart of Daniel Karslake’s award-winning documentary For The Bible Tells Me So. For The Bible Tells Me So