Atheists plan 2018 gatherings in OKC
Holiday pictures and slogans abound at this time of year, but some local billboards featuring an image of Santa and his reindeer are definitely not promoting Christmas.
An organization called American Atheists is using this symbol of the Christian holiday on billboards in Oklahoma City and Tulsa to spread the word about their national convention set for Easter weekend, March 30-April 1, 2018, in Oklahoma City.
“Just like Santa Claus, the atheists are comin’ to town!” reads the billboard featuring an image of Santa flying his sleigh over the Oklahoma City skyline.
Atheists are preparing to gather smack dab in the middle of the so-called Bible Belt of America — on purpose, a spokesman for the group said Friday.
“We like to insert ourselves into places where we feel atheists are not heard,” said Nick Fish, American Atheists’ national program director. “We know there are tons and tons of atheists in Oklahoma because we’ve talked to them.”
Fish said the Cranford, New Jersey-based organization predicts that people will do a double take once they view the Christmas scenes they expect to see during the holiday season connected to the atheists’ message.
“If we can play with that expectation and have a little fun with it, that’s when we’re doing our job, which is to get people talking about this,” Fish said.
A second billboard placed in Albuquerque and Dallas features a manger scene and tells passersby to “Just Skip Church. It’s All Fake News! Happy Holidays From American Atheists.”
Fish said the atheist group’s national convention will be at the Sheraton Hotel in Oklahoma City. He said it will be a social event combined with presentations by musicians, comedians and others sharing their personal stories on a diverse range of topics. On the last day, attendees will pack meals for the needy in partnership with a local charity.
Fish said there are two groups in Oklahoma affiliated with American Atheists — Oklahoma Atheists, based in Oklahoma City, and the Atheists Community of Tulsa, based in Tulsa.
William Poire, of Broken Arrow, American Atheists’ Oklahoma state director, said he was glad to see billboards touting the upcoming gathering.
For Poire, who was a Christian until he embraced atheism in 2002, the signage likely will spur some muchneeded conversations between people of faith and the atheists in their midst.
“I think that a big problem we have in our society is that we don’t understand each other,” Poire said Friday. “It’s saddening that we have to put up a billboard at all.”
Poire said he knows some people may view the signs as “combative,” but they are simply designed to be “provocative, which is to provoke conversation.”
Meanwhile, both Poire and Fish said the “fake news” billboard has different meanings.
Poire said the signage campaign isn’t promoting the idea of “atheists against Christians.” Rather, “this is between ‘we the people’ and the government.”
“It seems that the government is trying to use religion as a weapon. ‘We the people’ are facing the same issues and we need to hold the government accountable,” he said.
Fish said the “fake news” message is a way for the atheist group to encourage people to think critically about what leaders are saying around the country — even on Sundays at church.
“We think we should do that in every part of our life. We don’t think we should turn that off on Sunday morning,” he said.
Fish said the atheist organization welcomes atheists and anyone curious about atheists to join them for their 2018 convention in Oklahoma City.
He said there are atheists in Oklahoma that the group wants to reach out to and let them know that they are not alone.
“There are so many atheists in this country and we’re not heard in politics, in popular culture and in communities, and that’s what we’re trying to change,” Fish said. “It can be a really lonely thing. That’s why we try to go to the ‘buckle of the Bible belt.’”