Atheists are waging war on Christmas via a new billboard campaign that hits out directly at the Christian holiday. On December 1, American Atheists launched several billboards featuring a little girl and her faux letter to Santa that says, “Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is to skip church! I’m too old for fairy tales.” At first glance, the text on the billboard seems to be a direct response to the majority of Christians in America that accept at least part of what the Bible narrates as Christ’s supposed divinity.
Considering that a 2013 poll found 77 percent of American citizens believe Jesus resurrected and another poll found almost 70 percent of the country’s population believes Christ to be the son of God, American Atheists say they wanted to target closeted atheists who are compelled to observe religious traditions during the holiday season.
“Even children know churches spew absurdity, which is why they don’t want to attend services. Enjoy the time with your family and friends instead,” American Atheists president David Silverman said in a statement. “Today’s adults have no obligation to pretend to believe the lies their parents believed.”
The billboards, which went up on December 1 and will stay up until December 24, are located in several southern cities, including Nashville, Memphis, St Louis, Tennessee, Fort Smith, Missouri, Milwaukee, Arkansas and Wisconsin. American Atheists intentionally chose venues near schools and churches, according to its press release.
In the past years, American Atheists has even taken its anti-Christmas message to upscale locations like New York City’s Time Square. Their billboard last year asked, “Who needs Christ during Christmas?” and followed it with the answer, “Nobody.”
In 2012, they installed yet another batch of billboards saying, “Keep the Merry! Dump the Myth!” Those billboards featured Santa and a crucified Jesus with the word “merry” corresponding with the former and the word “myth” corresponding with the latter.
Photo Credits: The Examiner
