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Oct. 08, 2009
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Message to the masses

Through billboards, atheist group hopes to encourage some free thinking

By RICHARD LAKE
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

The billboard above is one of nine sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation that went up this week in Las Vegas. The foundation says its aim is to get people talking about religion.
Photos by John Locher.

John Whiteside and a national nonprofit foundation for atheists and agnostics are behind several billboards that have sprouted around town. They bear messages such as "Beware of Dogma" and "Imagine no Religion."

The atheists come forth bearing a message, and it is thus: Beware of religion, for it can lead you astray.

This message, in brief, has appeared on billboards all over town this week.

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"Beware of Dogma" reads one. "Imagine no Religion" another. "Praise Darwin: Evolve Beyond Belief," says a third.

They're made up in a faux stained-glass motif, with the words written in a fancy script that evokes a churchy feel.

They are part of a nationwide marketing and outreach campaign by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit whose members see religion, and its adherents, as a problem that needs to be fixed. Some of the fixing, according to the group's Web site, www.ffrf.org, comes in the form of lawsuits it files when it thinks church and state become too entangled.

As for the billboards, "We just think it's tremendous fun to bring our message to the masses," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, the foundation's co-president.

The billboards -- there are nine of them in town -- started going up on Monday. They'll be up for a month.

Gaylor said the group has a similar campaign going on in nearly every state, and Nevada is the 25th to get the billboards.

The goal?

There are two of them. First, to get people talking by being provocative. Second, to let folks who might agree with their message know they are not alone.

"We hope to open some eyes, and we hope to cheerlead a little bit for free thought," Gaylor said.

The group usually comes to a city after a local member scouts the place out and locates a few good spots for billboards. Here, that man is John Whiteside, a retired pilot who said he came to his atheism slowly.

"I really do feel that the billboards promote science and the separation of church and state," said Whiteside, 57, who lives in Henderson. "I view them as a patriotic duty."

Whiteside is originally from Mississippi. He said he was raised religious, but it never really took.

He held on to his beliefs, however, because of what's known as Pascal's Wager, which goes something like this: Though the existence of God cannot be proved, we should live our lives as though He does because we have nothing to lose by believing, but everything to lose by not believing.

Whiteside went on to join the Marine Corps and later the Air Force reserves. He dropped bombs over Iraq in Operation Desert Storm and later worked as a commercial airline pilot.

He said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were a "wake-up call to the evils of religion."

He retired soon after, and he began to read the Bible for the first time in his life. He read it once, didn't get it completely, read it again, and read it again.

After this third reading, he abandoned his belief.

He wants to poke fun, provoke talk, win a convert or two, let others like him know they are not alone, brandish his beliefs proudly.

He had heard about the foundation's national campaign, so he contacted it about coming to Las Vegas. He paid for the billboards, about $2,500, he said.

He said his greatest concern is that surveys show nearly half of Americans believe in the biblical story of creation.

This cannot stand, he said, in a society that is supposed to value scientific education.

So, the billboards. The provocation. The gentle and not-so-gentle teasing.

This is typical for fringe groups that want to be taken seriously, said UNLV political science professor Ted Jelen, who studies religion, politics and public opinion.

"The first stage," he said, "is the willingness to be outrageous."

That makes it easier for those who agree to speak up, which eventually can lead to their being taken seriously.

He compared what atheists are doing now to what the gay movement did in the 1960s and '70s.

Next, they'll likely want a seat at the policymaking table, he said.

But that's not likely to happen soon despite the media blitz. Jelen said recent surveys show that atheists are the least popular group in America.

"You won't find any candidates for office endorsing this," he said.

Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. bryan wrote on November 08, 2009 09:02 AM: Excellent job, Mr. Whiteside. Thank you for helping to present the non-religious viewpoint. And thank you ffrf for your work. Liz wrote on November 05, 2009 06:13 PM: It's about time someone puts some atheist points of view out there! BEST 2500 that guy ever spent! Religion in and of ITSELF (that's how it's spelled by the way) is the cause of thousands of killings throughout thousands of years. sad. America needs to WAKE UP. Jami wrote on October 19, 2009 09:30 AM: Too bad Whiteside couldn't find a better use of his money . Then again there is no motivation to do good with his money, there is no "reward" for good deeds under his current set of anti-religion dogma. There are many things about the nature of human beings that Darwin couldn't explain, and he didn't posess the gall to declare that God didn't exist , refering to himself as a theist. Religion of its self is completely incapeable of doing harm , we have based our laws upon it in this country for hundreds of years. Just like secular laws it is man's interpretation , avoidance, or disobetance that causes the problems among and between societies. Lack of religion has its own , more frightening consequences that I hope to never bear witness. And in so far as the wod hope , I wish atheists would stop using it. When faith dies , with it hope. Please leave that word to the theists , anticipate would probably be a more accurate description of your uninspired emotions. jay renaud wrote on October 14, 2009 06:54 PM: Interesting to note the language of the so-called expert, denoting FFRF as a cuddly 'fringe group' when the Foundation has cut its teeth in the court system so many times on separation of church and state issues. Also, everyone knows that atheists are hated by superstionists, including religionists; isn't it hatred and fear, including self-loathing, that religion really inculcates? But the 15% of Americans who have gradually realized that there's no sky-god, and that the universe has no personal concern for them, and who have committed to rational, humanist thinking, don't hate atheists. Is it too much to ask that the balancing opinion be an educated one? John Whiteside wrote on October 13, 2009 11:08 AM: A few comments about the previous comments. To stereotype someone for his/her beliefs marks a bigot. I paid for the billboards because I am concerned that some feel that this is a christian nation and do not want this great nation to slip into a theocracy. I also feel we could loose our competitive edge if 50% of Americans do not believe in science. I am not "hopeless that lifes experiences add up to nothing". They do. Our greatest legacy would be to make the next generation of humans life a little easier. Religion impeads progress.Science advances the human race. That is why people go to the doctor instead of having a priest anoint you with oil and pray for you. I am happy that some find peace and solitude in their religion. I have noted that thruout the world in my travels as an international airline captain. But religions have a dark side that people need to acknowledge, and, as the billboard says, "beware of dogma". gunowners4obama wrote on October 11, 2009 10:00 AM: See, you people with your judgmental, anti-atheist posts just go to show what one of the problems with religion is: too many followers who find themselves superior to others. Not to mention the pure stupidity of what you're saying. Gene O' wrote on October 09, 2009 08:08 AM: The great thing about being atheist is it provides one an excuse to take all kinds of anti-depressant drugs to overcome the hopelessness of knowing all of life’s experiences add up to nothing. In the end, life was created by accident on purpose just to make us all suffer the pain of futility. What an evil hate monger "Mother Nature" is; creating life for no other reason than to torture it. Why scientists worship at her alter makes one wonder just how delusional one must be to be called “scientist.” burning in the boosum is how you know you are mormon wrote on October 08, 2009 09:26 PM: . why do mormons try to take credit for everything ? wrote on October 08, 2009 09:25 PM: every historic landmarker i see has some reference to how a mormon saved humanity along the trail of old. like nobody else was every a human being. no landmark should have the word mormon any where on it. regardless of how much the book of mormon says knee fights and jarod dights came here in wooden canoes thousands of years before anyone else. talk about the mormons, they run nevada wrote on October 08, 2009 09:21 PM: run it right into the ground. Read All Comments