During November, a series of pro-atheist ads will be put up in the New York Subway system. This CNN article suggests that these signs are not intended to offend other religions, but instead expose the people of New York to the religous option of Atheism. The photo at the top is an example of one of these ads. Although it will not be possible to know the actual response to these ads until they are posted on Monday, I'd like to try to predict it.
Do you think any negative response to these ads will be stregthened because the subject matter is atheism? I tend to think that the response to these ads will probably be stronger than if they promoted Christianity or Judaism, arguably the two most well-known religions in america, but probably not as strong a response as if they were ads about Islam, a religion that people sometimes try to connect to terrorrism. How do you feel when hearing about this? I personally have absolutely no problem with these ads in the subway, but I understand that some people might feel differently. Is public transportation an appropriate outlet for advertising religious views? I think it can be seen in two ways. I tend to feel that any public place is an appropriate place to expose people to different views. Another way to see it is that people may not be able to avoid taking the subway if they think the ads are objectionable, and therefore should not be shown ads that have to do with personal matters.
Finally, I'd like to ask one very broad question; Is America becoming more or less tolerant of different religious views? I'm not sure; I feel that within my surroundings people are typically quite tolerant, but I know that fears and ignorance still build prejudice. While it may be impossible to totally eliminate religious prejudice, as a nation, are we progressing? I think that these ads are a step toward awareness of a particular view, but how will NYC respond?
I don't have a problem with it, partially because I'm an atheist, but mostly the first amendment. My only issue with it is the awkward phrasing they used. Also, I don't think the people using public transportation would be changed because of advertisements at all, unless some individuals decide to boycott. Almost every time I go down to Chicago I'm given a 'Jesus Loves You' flier from some random person, and it's not like I can avoid the unpredictable goings-on of sidewalks, or other peoples' religious opinion in public, with any guarantee.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about Islam being more controversial as an advertisement, but maybe. Islam and Christianity are sometimes seen as at odds with each other by some people, but at the same time, they are both Abrahamic religions. Maybe followers of either religion might consider it more of a concern if people don't believe in god at all? Not sure.
Is America becoming more tolerant of religion? I suppose so. Atheism/unorganized religion in general is somewhat on the rise, so I agree with you that there is increased visibility of that other religious affiliations that people have to acknowledge more. Like other types of prejudice, progress is being made, but it's slow, it can be interrupted/reversed by events, and I think America in particular will take a long time with it, because we're more religiously conservative than many Western European countries.
Your blog is so nicely colored.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an extremely interesting issue. I'd be surprised, actually, if the promotional ads regarding atheism receive any more backlash than the typical ones that support conversion to Christianity. Personally, I find ads of this nature to be intrusive in general, but I doubt that these will have a dramatic effect on the public. As to your question regarding America's tolerance of other religions, I believe it varies according to location within the country (as well as a variety of other important factors). Areas of greater population diversity are likely to have greater diversity of religious groups as well, and will therefore be home to more open-minded and accepting residents.
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