Billboards’ new gospel: No religion? No problem
DETROIT — Who needs religion?
That’s the question being raised by a group of secular activists that has put up billboards in Michigan containing photos of smiling people that read: “Millions of Americans are living happily without religion.”
Those might be provocative words for the devout, but the Center for Inquiry — a New York-based group that also put up the billboards in Indiana, New York, and Washington, D.C. — says its “Living Without Religion” campaign will resonate with growing numbers of Americans. It points to surveys that show an increasing percentage of people in the U.S. don’t identity with any religion.
“We want to let nonreligious people in our communities know that they’re not alone,” said Jennifer Beahan, assistant director of the Center for Inquiry’s Michigan chapter. “They are among millions of Americans living happy, purposeful lives without religion.”
Beahan, 25, of Grand Rapids, was raised as a conservative Christian — first Baptist and then Calvinist — trained to believe that every word of the Bible was true. But the more she read, she said, she found errors and contradictions that didn’t make sense. Around age 20, she realized: “I’m not comfortable believing this stuff anymore.”
“I wanted to find a community where I could ask questions without being told we’re going to hell” for not believing.
Hassan Khalifeh, 25, of Detroit, used to be a devout Muslim but also has given up his faith.
“I was actually extremely religious,” he said. “I read the Quran, prayed five times a day.”
But at 17, Khalifeh started reading more science and philosophy and felt that Islam wasn’t for him. Now, he’s a student organizer at a secular students group at Wayne State University, where he studies business.
A survey released last year by the Pew Research Center shows that people like Khalifeh and Beahan are increasingly not alone. About 1 in 5 Americans is not affiliated with any religion. That rises to 1 of 3 for those younger than 30. Onethird of all adults say they’re not a “religious person,” the survey said.
The smiling, diverse photos in the billboards — one white, one African-American, Latino — were by design, said organizers. They want to help dispel stereotypes people may have about atheists and others who question religion.
“We’re honest, hardworking people who love our families, and we’re involved in our communities,” Beahan said. “Please stop demonizing us. Atheists aren’t immoral, terrible, angry people.”