Atheists’ Billboard Encourages Arkansans to “Skip Church”
According to 40/29 News, the group American Atheists has placed a billboard along I-49 near Springdale that reads, “Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is to…SKIP CHURCH! I’m too old for fairy tales.”
According to a press release from American Atheists, the billboard is part of a campaign to promote atheism in the South ahead of the group’s convention in Memphis this spring.
This billboard is the latest in what seems to be an anti-Christmas tradition with some atheist groups any more.
In 2008 the Freedom From Religion Foundation placed a billboard in downtown Little Rock that read “Beware of Dogma.”
Last year atheists in Florida hung a banner depicting a few Founding Fathers gathered around a manger holding a copy of the Bill of Rights. They also placed signs alongside Christmas decorations in some state capitols claiming there are no gods, no Heaven, and no Hell.
Different groups have gone after everything from simple Nativity scenes in front of courthouses to Christmas tree lighting ceremonies. And then, of course, there is the shrine to paganism and nature-worship local atheists have placed on the Arkansas Capitol lawn every December since 2009.
This newest billboard raises a lot of questions. The big one I have, frankly, is what’s wrong with people celebrating Christmas? Christmas in this country has always been a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. If people want to go to church as part of that celebration, what’s wrong with that?
As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, many schools and teachers are preparing educational material and programs that coincide with the holidays. In recent years, it seems like Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations at school have come under increased scrutiny from atheist groups and others who allege schools somehow are violating the U.S. Constitution when students sing Christmas carols or learn about Puritans.