One little article has been burning up my email account this week. After reading about a bus driver who was placed on leave for refusing to drive his bus because of an advertising sign, my son sent out an email asking “anybody see issues with this”?
K asked “why are they advertising faith”?
R responded “the bus is publicly funded (tax payers) much like a public school. you cant put any religious advertising in a school, so why a bus? . . . so here is the issue as i see it. it started with using separation of church and state to remove God from schools and that was done. Now we’re in some odd post modern state where as long as the issue doesnt involve God or is anti-god then its ok.”
and D responded with “where i take issue is the fact that faith and religion… this entire occurence is nonsense! in this instance, someone SHOULD have been able to foresee that there will quite possibly be an individual with whom this doesn’t sit so well.”
According to the FreeThoughtAction blog, the ads are sponsored by Iowa’s Atheists and Freethinkers so that atheists in Iowa know that they are not alone.
So, do you see any issues with this?
Cotton Quilts Edi 
Edi,
I am a believer but I’m not offended by the ad. It’s someone’s opinion. While the bus is publicly funded, ads are paid for by private businesses and organizations. Ads are sold. A church group could just as easily advertise.
And to your son’s question, schools can’t promote or support any religious or political ideologies. Schools are different than the bus. In this country, schools are considered to be institutions that have significant influence over children and are charged with a different standard of unduly influencing them. That’s my understanding.
Regarding the driver, I believe in standing up for your convictions, but the ad does not make any disparaging remarks about religion. It says that those who do not believe are not alone.
If I have a right to believe and express my faith, why should non-believers have any less? Where is the tolerance? In this country we are free to practice or not practice religion.
Many religions believe in evangelism. They actively attempt to convert individuals to a particular faith. My personal experience with Atheists is that not one has ever suggested I should chuck my faith and not believe.
I’ll link this for Little Lov’n Monday.
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The ad was removed, then place back on the bus. The driver was placed on unpaid leave.
What do you think would have happened if an atheist refused to drive a bus with an ad for the Methodist church?
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I don’t have a problem with the sign. But I do think the bus driver had a right to her feelings. The bus driver stood up for what they believe in, good for them.
Though I can understand the bus companies poistion, it would be a diffcult situation if bus drivers requested not to drive certain buses due to ads.
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Edi,
I don’t see an atheist refusing to drive the bus. Like I said, I find them more tolerant either out of necessity or position. They are the minority and they are the ones usually ostracized.
I think in this country, atheists catch a lot of flack. You can be a non-practicing religious person or a hypocrite in this country and catch less flack than someone who openly says they don’t believe in God. Did you see the Family Guy episode when Meg publicized that Brian was an atheist? Personally, I am troubled how intolerant we can be. Where is the brotherly love?
Tolerance and acceptance are not synonymous and I believe in the right to believe or not. My only objection is when others aggressively seek to force their beliefs on me and any act that threatens harm because of what I believe. But declaration of faith or non-faith deserves tolerance.
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This is an interesting story. I’d be curious to hear the driver’s take on how the add is against her faith. The ad doesn’t seem to be against anything at all. Her reaction is a bit over the top, and the bus company’s reaction seems right on target.
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