An atheist group was expected to submit an ad for approval yesterday that would be posted on metro Vancouver buses promoting the idea that there is no God.
Humanist Canada approached Lamar Advertising, which handles TransLink’s advertising, to see if it can post ads with the slogan “You can be good without God.”
The City of Victoria has rejected the ads and yesterday Halifax’s transit authority did, too.
Pat O’Brien, the Vancouver-based president of Humanist Canada, said the ads are meant to educate people about the existence of an organized atheist group.
“It’s an organization that actively fights for secular values, separation of church and state and to bring attention to the fact that there are a lot of people who live their lives quite happily without God and that they’re not alone,” he told Metro.
A similar ad campaign in London, England, carried the message, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Posters were placed in 800 double-decker buses and on the underground system last month.
Nancy Swartz, a member of the Secular Humanist Association in Victoria, said the ads present an important alternative.
“Almost every corner has a church that can have a billboard on their grounds that say anything they want,” Swartz said. “So this is just a place for us to get our message out. It’s an option, another way to live a morally good life.”
