Subway Ads Appeal to Atheists
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 3:23 PM
Commuters in Boston will soon see ads in subway cars promoting non-belief.
Later this month, subway trains will sport ads for an atheist group that is conveying its message of non-belief in Chicago, New York and New Jersey, according to the Boston Globe. The photo to the left was taken by Steve Klise for the Boston Globe.
The Boston Area Coalition of Reason, funded by an anonymous donor, has spent $11,000 to purchase placards on 200 subway cars at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, known as the T among locals.
The message on Boston's Red Line and Green Line says: "Good without God? Millions of Americans Are."
The point, says Fred Edwords, head of the United Coalition of Reason, is to let non-believers know there's a community out there for them. "They're inundated with religious messages at every turn. So we hope this will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren't alone," Edwords told the Boston Globe.
The coalition has already plastered its message on billboards in Dallas, Charleston, S.C., Des Moines, Phoenix and New Orleans.
The lead pastor of Vineyard Christian Fellowship in the Boston area said he's not upset with the atheist campaign.
"The message seems uncharitable and hopeless, but I do think it's possible to be good without God. Yet I think they're preaching to the choir in Boston. They'll find a lot of people who agree with them," said Dave Schmelzer, the pastor, adding, ‘It's a free country."
Schmelzer's church has been advertising on the T for the past 10 years.
At METRO, we have kept placards out of our trains and limited those in our buses to public information notices. Our trains have been wrapped to help promote our services and our partnership with the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Click here to view one of our wrapped trains, promoting Airport Direct.