You wait for one, then… Atheist buses hit the streets

Atheist buses were born when comedy writer Ariane Sherine saw an advert on a London bus featuring a Bible quote. A website URL ran underneath the quote, and when Sherine visited the site she was told that, as a non-believer, she would be “condemned to everlasting separation from God and then spend all eternity in torment in hell”.

Unsettled that religious groups were allowed to advertise websites which claimed that the non-religious would face torture at the end of their lives, Sherine pitched and began to write a comment piece for the Atheists – Gimme Five website. As part of her research for the piece, she called the UK's Advertising Standards Authority, but was told that the website advertised wasn’t part of their remit. At the end of her article, keen to suggest a solution, she proposed that if all atheists reading her article contributed £5, it would be possible to fund an atheist London bus ad with the slogan: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

To Sherine’s surprise and excitement, the majority of reader comments under the article were very positive and enthusiastic about the idea, with dozens of commenters offering to contribute to the campaign, and the initial fundraising target was surpassed in a matter of hours.

"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," says Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion. "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."

Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association, 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."

In the first ad campaign of its kind in the United States, the American Humanist Association raised 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.

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