VIA: Baltimore Sun
A coalition of atheists and agnostics is hoping to get Baltimoreans talking with a billboard campaign that poses the question: “Are you good without God?”
The effort, which includes signage on I-895, I-95 and near M&T Bank Stadium, is part of a campaign that has hit states blue (New York, California, Massachusetts), red (Texas, South Carolina) and purple (Virginia).
“The point of our national billboard campaign is to reach out to the millions of humanists, atheists and agnostics living in the United States,” Fred Edwords, national director of the United Coalition of Reason, said in a statement. “Nontheists sometimes don’t realize there’s a community out there for them because 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.”
An additional goal is promoting understanding of non-theistic ethics, Baltimore Coalition of Reason coordinator Emil Volcheck said. The complete text of the billboards read: “Are you good without God? Millions are.”
“It is often assumed that one can’t be moral without belief in a deity,” Volcheck said in a statement. “In actual fact, we humanists, freethinkers, agnostics and atheists make moral issues and social activism primary. Now we’d like others to be aware of that.”
The billboards are located on Russell Street in front of M&T Bank Stadium, on I-895 South after Childs Street, on I-95 North after the Ft. McHenry Tunnel and I-95 S before Caton Avenue.
The campaign coincides with the release of “Good without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe,” by Greg Epstein, the Humanist chaplain at Harvard University. Epstein is scheduled to speak at 4 p.m. Sunday at the First Unitarian Church at 1 W. Franklin St. A reception and book signing begins at 3 p.m.; the event is free and open to the public.
