Atheist Billboards Encourage Non-Believers to Come 'Out of the Closet' During Holiday Season
Atheists are coming "Out of the Closet" this holiday season.
In an effort to battle a season centered around religious holidays, the Freedom from Religion foundation has created the Out of the Closet billboard campaign in Sacramento, Calif.
"Those of us who are free from religion, who work to keep dogma out of government, science, medicine and education, have a lot to offer society," Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of Freedom from Religion Foundation, said.
55 billboards will feature catchy slogans like "Good without God," "Live for now, not for after," "No Gods, no devils, no worries" and "A life of love, no Gods required."
"The whole month of December is taken over in a celebration of the religious beliefs, in particular Christianity, and it's just as if the whole month turns non-believers into outsiders," Gaylor said.
The Wisconsin-based foundation will erect their billboards the day after Thanksgiving. Smiling everyday people appear on the billboards to show fellow atheists and agnostics that they do not have to hide their beliefs, or lack thereof, even during this extra-religious time of year.
"There are a lot of non-believers, and this time of year they feel like they're all alone," Judy Saint said. "This is not directed to people who enjoy their church, who enjoy their religion. That's fine, but we're talking to people who don't know that atheism is okay."
Sacramento's religious community is not fighting the Out of the Closet campaign.
"While I'm not happy about these billboards, I am certain people still, when they look deep down in their soul and in their heart, find a spark," Bishop Jaime Soto, of Sacramento's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, told KTXL-TV. "They believe in a higher power."
"Sacramento is a very religious community," Jon Fish, Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento spokesperson, said. "...I hope they won't be feeling alone. I hope the religious people reach out to them. That's what we're supposed to do."
The billboards will be around for at least a month.
"I wish they weren't up there ... but I'm not going to fight their rights," Monsigneur James Murphy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento said.