More Naked Atheism Coming to a Billboard Near You

This was not a one-off.

Atheists are coming out of the closet all over the South.

The nonprofit Freedom From Religion Foundation, which says it is the largest organization of non-believers with 16,000 members, has placed billboards in about 45 cities in 30 states since October 2007, said said Annie Laurie Gaylor, the group’s co-president. The Atlanta billboards are part of a southern membership and education push.

“It’s a strategic place to begin this conversation,’’ said Derrick Lemons, an instructor in the Religion Department of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia. “People in the area of the country especially will take offense to it and will start conversations which is, when it comes to marketing, a great thing to have.’’

Gaylor called the campaign “an intellectually responsible alternative,’’ to religious programming in the media. “Religion is winning by default. Why are we letting them dominate everything? You can turn on the television or radio 24/7 and be preached at,’’ she said.

Find out more about Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers.