rockin'robin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
- Messages
- 24,419
- Reaction score
- 551
NE Florida, United Coalitions Of Reason Aim To Reach Out To Freethinkers
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."
These words are part of prominent billboards scheduled to go up this week in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
The one for Jacksonville is 10 feet by 32 feet and will be located in the Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace area on the west side of Blanding Boulevard just north of Parkwood Drive, facing north.
The billboard for the St. Augustine area is 12 feet by 40 feet and will be located in St. Augustine South on the west side of the Dixie Highway almost a mile south of State Road 312, facing south.
The billboards are being placed by the Northeast Florida Coalition of Reason with $2,300 in funding from the United Coalition of Reason. Each billboard features an image of blue sky and clouds with the words superimposed.
The announcement marks the public launch of the Northeast Florida CoR, which is made up of three area nontheistic (atheist and agnostic) groups, the United CoR announced Wednesday in a press release.
The Jacksonville and St. Augustine billboards are also part of a national campaign. Already this year there have been similar billboards in the Tampa Bay area, Tucson, Sacramento and Seattle. There were also bus ads in Des Moines and Detroit.
Last year, United CoR-sponsored billboard, bus, and subway ads appeared in 20 cities, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Tulsa, Phoenix and San Diego.
Fred Edwords, the national director of the United CoR, said in a phone interview that the billboards are meant to help nontheistic groups find each other and get connected as part of the local chapter's launch. He said the billboards are not meant to attack religious groups.
"The point of our nationwide awareness campaign is to reach out to the millions of freethinkers, humanists, atheists and agnostics living in the United States," Edwords said in a press release. "Nonreligious people sometimes don't realize there's a community out there for them because they're inundated with religious messages at every turn. So we hope this will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren't alone."
The United CoR said reaching out to the like-minded isn't the only goal of the effort.
"We also want to let the general public know that those of us who don't believe in a higher power live in the area, too," added Stephen Peek, coordinator of Northeast Florida CoR, in the release. "Folks may not know that people like us can be found everywhere. We're family members, friends, neighbors and coworkers. So we think it's time that we became open about our views, just as others are open about theirs."
For more details on the Northeast Florida campaign and for images of the billboard, go to About the Northeast Florida Coalition of Reason | United Cor.
Godless Billboards Appearing In NE Fla. - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."
These words are part of prominent billboards scheduled to go up this week in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
The one for Jacksonville is 10 feet by 32 feet and will be located in the Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace area on the west side of Blanding Boulevard just north of Parkwood Drive, facing north.
The billboard for the St. Augustine area is 12 feet by 40 feet and will be located in St. Augustine South on the west side of the Dixie Highway almost a mile south of State Road 312, facing south.
The billboards are being placed by the Northeast Florida Coalition of Reason with $2,300 in funding from the United Coalition of Reason. Each billboard features an image of blue sky and clouds with the words superimposed.
The announcement marks the public launch of the Northeast Florida CoR, which is made up of three area nontheistic (atheist and agnostic) groups, the United CoR announced Wednesday in a press release.
The Jacksonville and St. Augustine billboards are also part of a national campaign. Already this year there have been similar billboards in the Tampa Bay area, Tucson, Sacramento and Seattle. There were also bus ads in Des Moines and Detroit.
Last year, United CoR-sponsored billboard, bus, and subway ads appeared in 20 cities, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Tulsa, Phoenix and San Diego.
Fred Edwords, the national director of the United CoR, said in a phone interview that the billboards are meant to help nontheistic groups find each other and get connected as part of the local chapter's launch. He said the billboards are not meant to attack religious groups.
"The point of our nationwide awareness campaign is to reach out to the millions of freethinkers, humanists, atheists and agnostics living in the United States," Edwords said in a press release. "Nonreligious people sometimes don't realize there's a community out there for them because they're inundated with religious messages at every turn. So we hope this will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren't alone."
The United CoR said reaching out to the like-minded isn't the only goal of the effort.
"We also want to let the general public know that those of us who don't believe in a higher power live in the area, too," added Stephen Peek, coordinator of Northeast Florida CoR, in the release. "Folks may not know that people like us can be found everywhere. We're family members, friends, neighbors and coworkers. So we think it's time that we became open about our views, just as others are open about theirs."
For more details on the Northeast Florida campaign and for images of the billboard, go to About the Northeast Florida Coalition of Reason | United Cor.
Godless Billboards Appearing In NE Fla. - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville