For Immediate Release

(Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009) For all who “Want a Better World” the American Humanist Association has a message: “Prayer not Required.” A billboard emblazoned with this slogan went up this week in the Moscow, Idaho area on Highway 95 (JPEGs of the billboard can be found here: http://americanhumanist.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/billboard_paryernot2.jpg, http://americanhumanist.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/billboard_prayernot.jpg ).

“We have really upped the ante with this ad,” said Karen Frantz, Communications and Policy Manager of the American Humanist Association. “In the past our message has reached out to atheists, agnostics and other nontheists already in the community. This ad, however, goes a little farther and says faith is not a necessity for a better world.”

The “Want a Better World? Prayer Not Required” ad is the second billboard to appear in the Moscow area. This past spring the American Humanist Association ran an ad in the area that read “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”

“We want nontheists to know that there is a community out there for them and that it’s okay not to believe in a god,” continued Frantz. “Many feel alienated and vilified for their lack of belief. But nontheists are upstanding citizens. They’re true to their families, friends and values.”

The billboard will run on Highway 95 between July 1 and September of this year. It can be found just south of Moscow near the Sweet Avenue cross street, facing northbound traffic.

The Moscow billboards are part of a larger advertising effort by the American Humanist Association, which aims to spread awareness about being good without God. The AHA and other like-minded organizations, such as the United Coalition of Reason, have placed billboards in Phoenix, AZ; Philadelphia, PA and Charleston, SC. In addition, the AHA ran bus ads that read “Why Believe in a God? Just be Good for Goodness’ Sake” in Washington, D.C. during the 2008 winter holiday season.

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 the United States.

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity.

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For more information contact:

Karen Frantz, Communications and Policy Manager
American Humanist Association
kfrantz@americanhumanist.org