Atheist Bus Campaign part two unveiled for Universal Children’s Day in Edinburgh

A billboard advert has been displayed in Edinburgh for Universal Children’s Day (November 20th) as the Atheist Bus Campaign buses enters its second phase.

Thousands of pounds poured in to the campaign after the bus posters appeared so organisers decided to continue the work.

Ariane Sherine, original creator of the Atheist Bus Campaign, said: “One of the issues raised by donors was the issue of children having the freedom to grow up and decide for themselves what they believe. I hope this poster campaign will encourage the government and general public to see children as individuals, free to make their own choices, and accord them the liberty and respect they deserve.”

In the 2001 census more than a quarter of all Scots said they had no religion and in the under 50 age group, the proportion is a lot higher. The Humanist Society, Scotland now has more than 5400 members, more members than many of the country’s political parties.

Bob McKay, Convenor of HSS, the secular voice for Scotland, added: “Young people have the right to learn freely, to interpret things for themselves, to analyse, to investigate and to reach their own conclusions.
Most parents want these rights for their child, yet the school system makes it necessary for parents to ‘opt out’ of religious observance or teaching in order to exercise these rights. This can obviously make children, as well as parents, feel awkward or ostracised.
We would prefer that no particular belief system were presented as the norm. In any case, such a stance makes no sense in today’s diverse society.”

The posters display some of the labels routinely applied to children that imply beliefs such as Protestant or Sikh mixed with labels that people would never apply to young children such as Marxist, Anarchist, or Libertarian. In front are children, with the slogan, “Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself”.

Additional notes

1. HSS Convenor Bob McKay is a former local authority director of education.

2. The Edinburgh billboard is at Portobello Road, Piershill. Billboards are also being unveiled in London, Cardiff and Belfast. They will be displayed for two weeks.

3. The Atheist Bus Campaign’s appeal for donations to fund the bus adverts was launched in October 2008, aiming to raise £5,500. Within four days it had raised £100,000 in individual donations from the general public and went on to raise over £153,523, smashing its original target by 2791%.

4. Spin-offs from the campaign have included bus and other advertising campaigns organised by humanist organisations all over the world and a book edited by Ariane Sherine, ‘The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas’, the proceeds of which are being donated to Terrence Higgins Trust.

5. The billboards are on show to coincide with November 20th, Universal Children’s Day, which is the United Nations “day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children” . In 2009 Universal Children’s Day marks the twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the sixtieth anniversary of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

6. Articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child include: Article 2, where the child is “protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members”; Article 13 which provides that the child should “have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds”; Article 14 which guarantees that states will “respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”.

7. Also backing the campaign is Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science: richarddawkinsfoundation.org and the British Humanist Association

8. Details of a fundraising campaign to raise money for the BHA’s work against state funded faith schools can be found at at www.justgiving.com/nofaithschools.