Santa Claus has a message for Americans: “Go ahead and skip church and simply be good for goodness’ sake.”
Atheist Santa, that is.
The American Atheists announced Monday that it was posting billboards in the Raleigh, N.C. and Colorado Springs, Co. with the anti-church message.
It’s part of a series. Last year they put up billboards showing a child writing to Santa that she wanted to skip church.
“Last year’s billboard showed a child writing a letter to Santa, telling him that all she wanted for Christmas was to skip church. This year, Santa wrote back,” said David Silverman president of American Atheists.
Our new holiday billboards just went up in NC & CO! Read the release and see the design: https://t.co/gMsAe1aCov pic.twitter.com/vAY0QqAQSh
— American Atheists (@AmericanAtheist) December 7, 2015
“We want people to know that going to church has absolutely nothing to do with being a good person,” he said, adding, “The things that are most important during the holiday season—spending time with loved ones, charity, and being merry—have nothing to do with religion.”
The message is sure to irk Christians, especially in Colorado Springs, home to Focus on the Family.
Whatever, says said the group, who said the focus is on those with no religious affiliation. “It is important for these folks who are on the fence about their beliefs to know that they can take that first big step and leave church,” said Nick Fish, national program director of American Atheists. “There are tens of millions of atheists in this country. We’re everywhere. And we don’t need church or gods to tell us how to be good people.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
