""The bad news is that God doesn't exist. The good news is that you don't need one."". This is the Italian version of the campaign in favor of atheism that from February 4th it will cover two public buses in Genoa. But this will only be the beginning. Or perhaps the end of this promotion of disbelief, judging by the lively religious controversies and counter-offensives that followed the same initiative. on buses in London, Spain, Washington and even Australia, where it was blocked before it even appeared on the streets.
It is no coincidence that the opening of the campaign launched by the’Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (UAAR) will leave from Genoa. "It's a kind of Atheist challenge at Angelo Bagnasco's home, president of the CEI" explains Raffaele Carcano, general secretary of Uaar. "After the controversy over the Genoa Gay Pride, guilty of having been scheduled for June 13th, the day of Corpus Christi, and after Bagnasco's words to hinder the holding of the event, after the cardinal's frequent outbursts on matters of science, rights, and reproduction, the Uaar has decided to regain some level playing field. And to publicize disbelief.
Using commercials and choosing to send messages as if it were a new car or a detergent gives the idea of conditions of atheists forced to reaffirm their presence in the face of the pervasiveness of the Catholic presence. "The Church has and must continue to have freedom of speech," Carcano continues. "As long as there is adequate space for non-Catholics as well. By supporting this advertising campaign, the Uaar intends to restore to disbelief some of the equal opportunities that the mass media struggle to recognize," with a message "that invites reflection, adding a pinch of trust and optimism in a humanist vein.".
The idea of the atheist buses was from British Humanist Association It was such a success that it was later taken up in the United States, Australia, and Spain. As has already happened abroad, Italian atheists have also launched a campaign to raise the funds needed to extend the initiative through other means and in other cities. Reactions permitting. "We have no idea what awaits us because it's always difficult to predict," Carcano continues. "To give an example in the publishing world, the Church doesn't criticize books by Augias or Maltese when they come out, but only when people start talking about them, then they go wild, as they did with Dan Brown. We too could have launched our campaign starting from Rome, but we preferred to avoid playing the victim.".
The Union of Italian Atheists is therefore ready and curious to see what kind of reaction there will be. "We'll see what happens in secular Genoa when public transport, instead of the usual advertisements, encourages people to live without the comfort of faith.".
Meanwhile, the campaign about the non-existence of God is spreading to cities across Europe and beyond. In Spain – Starting today in Barcelona, soon in Madrid and Valencia, then also in Zaragoza, Seville and Bilbao – the slogan was translated from the English one: "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." The message chosen by the American Humanist Association for Washington buses is "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake."Why believe in God? Be good for the sake of goodness.). In Australia the slogan created sounds like "atheists sleep on Sunday morning".
In Catholic Spain, the funds were raised by the Union of Atheists and Freethinkers (Ual) through the website busateo.org. However, while the campaign launched in Barcelona today, in Madrid the atheists' association (Amal) is still negotiating the rental of advertising space on two city buses with the local transport company.
In London, the British atheists' initiative has raised donations that far exceeded expectations, so much so that the campaign will be rolled out nationwide on buses and subways. Meanwhile, Christian Voice, a Christian association, has filed an official complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), arguing that the campaign violates laws on the veracity of slogans because the message is "presented as fact, which means it must be proven to not violate the rules." The Association of British Humanists has not been intimidated by the complaint, and its director, Hanne Stinson, stated:"I would feel sorry for the ASA if the authority were asked to pronounce on the existence of God. If they decided to open an investigation, however, we are willing to cooperate."".