Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Atheists Target Des Moines With Godless Bus Ads

Des Moines, IA -- "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."

Iowa Bus Ad

These words are part of an advertising campaign designed to raise awareness that there are many Iowans who don't believe in a god. The prominent ads have been placed on the sides of twenty DART buses and will continue through the month of August as those buses serve the Iowa State Fair.

The ads are sponsored by Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers (IAF) and were prepared by the United Coalition of Reason, a national organization. Each ad features an image of blue sky and clouds with the words superimposed over. An image of this ad is available online at http://www.iowaatheists.org/.

"The purpose of this ad campaign is to reach out to non-religious people in the Des Moines metro area as well as the state, letting them know that they aren't alone and that they too have a community if they want to join it," said IAF President Randy Henderson.

"Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers chose August to run the ads in part because of the timing with the Iowa State Fair," Henderson added. DART runs a shuttle service to the state fairgrounds from several spots in the Des Moines area. "Our group hopes that with so many visitors from around the state coming to Des Moines for the fair, we will have the opportunity to reach many more Iowans than at any other time."

Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers is a nonprofit social and educational group working to provide a community of support and friendship for atheists, freethinkers, secular humanists, agnostics, and other nonreligious people.

In previous actions, Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers co-sponsored in October a billboard on Fleur Drive that stated "Keep Religion Out of Politics," hosted the second annual National Day of Reason Celebration in May, and this summer marched in the Capital City Pride Parade as well as hosted informational booths at the Capital City Pride Festival and the Des Moines Downtown Farmers' Market.

Iowa Bus Ad

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