First-Ever "Nontheist Billboard"

During the last two winters, perennial artic ice shrunk by an area the sixe of Texas and California combined, with thick ice confined to the Arctic Ocean north of Canada.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is the nation's largest association of atheists and agnostics, is unveiling what is believed to be the first-ever nontheistic billboard on Tuesday, Oct. 2 in Madison, Wis.

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The whimsical full-color 18-foot billboard mimics a stained-glass window and warns, "Beware of Dogma." The only other wording is the Freedom From Religion Foundation's name and its website, ffrf.org.

"We are launching a campaign to place free-thought billboards up around the country, wherever an irreverent billboard is needed, which is practically everywhere!" says Annie Laurie Gaylor, Foundation spokeswoman.

"We don't go to Mass, but we can go to the masses," adds Dan Barker, Foundation co-president. "We think it is time for the rest of us to use the mass media to counter the ubiquity of religious messages on roadsides everywhere!"

The Foundation will also be erecting another billboard next week to greet attendees of its 30th national convention, meeting on Oct. 12-13 in Madison. A smaller billboard on West Johnson Street by Fordem Avenue (passed by nearly everyone coming in from the airport) will carry the "Beware of Dogma" message on one side, while the other side will sport the stained-glass motif and the words "Imagine No Religion."

The Foundation, with more than 11,000 atheist and agnostic members nationwide, is a state/church watchdog. Last week, the State of Indiana capitulated to the Foundation's federal challenge of the nation's first chaplaincy for state employees. The position for a minister to "encourage a faithful environment in the workplace" was abolished formally on Sept. 23 and the Foundation dismissed the lawsuit. The Foundation has taken the lead in challenging Pres. Bush's faith-based initiative.

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