Mike Tidmus

L-R: comedy writer Ariane Sherine, Professor Richard Dawkins and Guardian writer Polly Toynbee pose beside a London bus displaying the ad campaign. (Photo: Leon Neal for AFP/Getty Images in the Los Angeles Times)

A short time ago I wrote about an atheist bus sign campaign and a couple of faith versus non-faith billboard controversies here in the US. A similar campaign (video at the link) in the UK, sponsored by the British Humanist Association, has likewise met with no small amount of controversy. It seems the believers believe it’s acceptable to slap up Jesus saves messages on every street corner, but woe unto any non-believer who puts up a billboard that says imagine there’s no heaven.

The atheist sign, which is appearing on the sides of buses all across Great Britain reads: There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life. You can’t get much more threatening than that, now can you?

Sarcasm aside, for the moment, a number of non-believers have also taken issue with the diluted message, which was worded to comply with Britain’s Advertising Code. The writer Ariane Sherine says, “There’s another reason I’m keen on the ‘probably:’ it means the slogan is more accurate, as even though there’s no scientific evidence at all for God’s existence, it’s also impossible to prove that God doesn’t exist.”

In a recent article by Henry Chu in the Los Angeles Times, Richard Dawkins on board with a pro-atheist message, noted biologist, Oxford professor and author of a number of books including The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins addresses the “probably” controversy:

Does having to stick in the word “probably” to conform with advertising regulations bother you? Doesn’t that make it more an agnostics campaign?

I argued against that. I wanted a stronger statement. However, I’ve come around to it now, partly because a complaint has now been made to the Advertising Standards Agency, which suggested that the word “probably” was necessary. . . .

But I also quite like it now because it’s got a sort of quirky humor about it. It recalls the Carlsberg lager advertisement: “Probably the best lager in the world.” There’s something witty about it that’s more likely to get people talking than something definitive like “There is no God.” It encourages people to start talking.

The atheist bus sign campaign has indeed encouraged people to start talking, among them Stephen Green, noted homophobe and Godfather of the British version of America’s radical religious right — Christian Voice. According to The Guardian, approximately 150 complaints of offense have been registered with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) by “Christians and other religions that believe in a single God.” Stephen Green maintains:

It is given as a statement of fact and that means it must be capable of substantiation if it is not to break the rules.

There is plenty of evidence for God, from people’s personal experience, to the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural world.

But there is scant evidence on the other side, so I think the advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an exaggeration or inaccurate, as the ASA code puts it.

Perhaps Mr Green missed the word probably.

As Hanne Stinson, the chief executive of the British Humanist Association, put it, “[she] pitied the ASA if they are going to be expected to rule on the probability of god’s existence. However, if they do investigate we will be very happy to respond.”

The Advertising Standards Authority is still mulling over whether an actual offense has occurred and whether or not they should, once and for all, decide if God exists.

In the meantime, stop worrying and enjoy your life.