Atheist bus campaign squashed in New Zealand

A campaign with ads saying "There's probably no God" was rejected by a New Zealand bus company because it was considered too divisive. Atheists are claiming the decision is biased.

The full text of the ads reads "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." The bus campaign originally started in the UK, and was rather successful there as the fund-raising campaign brought in far more money than was needed in a very short time. Encouraged by this success, atheist groups in other countries started their own campaigns, which were also successful. The campaigns are controversial, however, and several had to be cancelled because the ads were refused by bus companies. Kelly Burns reports in the New Zealand "The Dominion Post" that a local atheist group had planned a bus campaign as well, and that it was refused by New Zealand bus companies as too divisive. Fund-raising was just as easy in New Zealand as in the UK. It took a mere 30 hours to raise the $10,000 needed for the four-week campaign, resulting in a total amount of more than $22,000. Kelly Burns quotes the spokesman of the atheist campaign, Simon Fisher, as saying that this refusal is discriminatory and:

In a way, the rejection by NZ Bus has shown why this campaign is needed in the first place.

The message of atheism is not accepted in the public, showing the double standard between religious and non-religious messages.

The campaign was meant to raise awareness and provoke discussion on religion in a country where one-third of the population has no religion. However, religious groups pressured the company, NZ Bus, to refuse the campaign. According to Fisher, "It is a potential violation of the Human Rights Act, discriminating on the grounds of non-belief". He also said that the company is clearly applying a double standard since:

atheist messages [are] not allowed on buses while religious messages are often seen on buses and in public

A spokeswoman of the bus company said:

NZ Bus has the right to decline advertising that may, in its perception, be considered controversial or divisive.

NZ Bus is not the only company to refuse the ads. Michael Bott, a Wellington lawyer, said that the decision appears unfair and discriminatory, even though the bus companies are privately owned. The bus campaign group is now looking at other ways to get its message out.