For Immediate Release

(Washington, D.C., September 16, 2009) “Millions are Good Without God,” said the American Humanist Association (AHA) on a new billboard put up in Moscow, Idaho yesterday. The billboard is one of several that have gone up in the Moscow area, part of an advertising campaign to spread awareness about being good without God. An image of the display can be found here:http://www.americanhumanist.org/2009/moscow/billboard .

“We want people to know that you can be good without God,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “Too many think that morality is the exclusive domain of the religious—we’re here to prove that assumption wrong.”

“We also want to reach out to other nontheists to let them know there is a community out there for them and that they’re not alone,”
said Speckhardt.

The billboard will run on Highway 95, just south of Moscow near the Sweet Avenue cross street, facing northbound traffic. It will be displayed through January.

The “Millions are Good Without God” ad is the third 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,” and in the fall the American Humanist Association ran an ad that said “Want a Better World? Prayer not Required.”

“We’ve had great success with this advertising campaign,” said Speckhardt. “We’ve heard from nontheists who have been very enthusiastic about it and are excited to be part of this community, and we’ve heard from theists who have voiced their support of us speaking out.”

“Even though we still have a long way to go to overcome prejudice against us, it’s becoming less controversial to say you don’t need to believe in God in order to be a good person,” concluded Speckhardt.

The American Humanist Association billboard campaign is part of a larger effort to spread awareness about nontheism. 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