DES MOINES, Iowa - A dispute about bus advertisements seeking to publicize atheist views has touched off a free speech debate after the signs were torn down — then posted again — on the sides of Des Moines city buses.
The ads, sponsored by the Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers, picture white puffy clouds against a blue sky and read: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone." The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority stripped the signs after receiving complaints, then after meeting with the atheist group, reversed course and replaced the ads.
The issue with the ads in Des Moines was with the word God, said Elizabeth Prusetti, chief development officer for the bus agency.
"We have never allowed that word in our advertising, promoting a religion," she said. "We've never used the word God in any advertising to maintain some autonomy. We've had churches advertise, but it's been for their church and not a belief."
The United Coalition of Reason, which works to raise the visibility of nontheists and to improve the way they are perceived by average Americans, said the ad campaign is fueled in part by the prevalence of mainstream discussion of religious beliefs. Fred Edwords, the spokesman for United Coalition of Reason, said the environment in the country has begun to shift, in part because of President Barack Obama's acknowledgment of nonreligious people during his inaugural address, when he said "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers."
The agency has since decided its advertising policy was outdated, and is changing it to better align with other policies regarding civil rights, the state's obscenity and profanity laws and the diversity of the community, said Brad Miller, the agency's general manager.
Full article here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32418140/ns/us_news-faith/
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