January 8, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Roy Speckhardt (202) 238-9088, or (703) 314-7008
rspeckhardt@americanhumanist.org – www.americanhumanist.org
(click image for larger view)
(Washington, D.C.) “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”
Starting tomorrow morning,these words will be read by southbound motorists on the New Jersey Turnpike at the section of I-95 near Ridgefield, between the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel. They are part of a highway billboard that features an image of blue sky and clouds with the words superimposed over. The billboard will be placed by FreeThoughtAction, an independent adjunct of the American Humanist Association.
“The point of the billboard is to let nontheistic people, such as atheists and agnostics, know they’re not alone,” explained Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association.
Jan Meshon, founder of FreeThoughtAction, added: “For all the attention given to religion lately, the number of secular Americans is booming. The tide is definitely turning.”
“So why have nontheistic Americans been made to feel marginalized and deviant?” Speckhardt asked. “This billboard demonstrates our will to push back and refuse to be passive in the culture wars. And after so many religious billboards, it’s only fair that we should have one that gives voice to nontheists.”
The billboard will be up until February 3 and is only the first of a series that will appear around the country, raising the public profile of humanists and freethinkers. The billboard is backed by an active Web site at http://www.freethoughtaction.org/ that sets forth the larger mission of the effort and offers ways that individuals can get involved.
# # #
The American Humanist Association (www.americanhumanist.org) advocates for the rights and viewpoints of humanists. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., its work is extended through more than 100 local chapters and affiliates across America.
Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity.