London buses have God on their side — but not for long, if atheists have their way. The sides of some of London’s red buses will soon carry ads asserting there is “probably no God”, as non-believers fight what they say is the preferential treatment given to religion in British society.Organisers of a campaign to raise funds for the ads said on Wednesday they received more than $113,000 in donations, almost seven times their target, in the hours since they launched the project on a charity website. Supporters include Oxford University biologist Richard Dawkins, who donated $9,000.The money will be used to place posters on 30 buses carrying the slogan “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” The plan was to run the ads for four weeks, but so much money has been raised that the project may be expanded.“A lot of people say trying to organise atheists is like herding cats. The last couple of days shows that is not true,” said comedy writer Ariane Sherine, who started the campaign.While most London buses carry posters for shops or Hollywood movies, Christian churches and Muslim groups have bought bus-side ad space in the past.Sherine came up with the idea after seeing Christian posters on London buses. She said she visited the website promoted on one ad and found it told non-believers they would spend eternity in hell. “I thought it would be a really positive thing to counter that by putting forward a much happier and more upbeat advert, saying ‘Don’t worry, you’re not going to hell’,” said Sherine, 28. The British Humanist Association, which is administering the fundraising drive, said it had been so successful the campaign might spread to other cities including Manchester and Edinburgh.Most Britons identify themselves as Christians, but few attend church regularly, and public figures rarely talk about their beliefs. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was rare among politicians in speaking openly about his Christian faith.Dawkins, author of the best-selling atheist manifesto The God Delusion, said that religion nonetheless held a privileged position in society.“Religious organisations have an automatic tax-free charitable status,” he said. “Bishops sit in the House of Lords automatically.”
