NZ Bus has bowed to blackmail and changed its mind about allowing the slogan there’s probably no god – now stop worrying and enjoy your life to appear on the sides of its buses.

As a commercial operator, the company is entitled to make that decision. It no doubt reasoned that disgruntled theists would stop travelling on its buses and might well start a campaign to encourage others to do the same.

The god-botherers must believe that their creed is pretty weak if they see something as innocuous and understated as this particular slogan as representing a threat. Most atheists would say there is almost certainly no God, conceding only that it isn’t possible to prove the case one way or the other. The non-existence of God comes as near as possible to being a fact, since there is absolutely no empirical evidence to support a claim to the contrary. 

There probably isn’t an issue of free speech here either and for the same reason: that NZ Bus is a commercial operator and has an absolute discretion as to what advertising will or will not be carried on its buses. But the theists should at least realise that censorship of opposing ideas isn’t a good look for anyone who thinks they hold a strong and supportable position. It didn’t work for the Inquisition. And they had thumbscrews, the rack and the iron maiden.

There is, however, an issue of fairness here. As an atheist I find myself living in a society awash with religious propaganda. It would be virtually impossible to walk down any major road in New Zealand without encountering a billboard or sign advertising God or Jesus.

Religion and politics are supposed to be separate in this country, but our parliament is opened each sitting day with a prayer:

‘Almighty God, humbly acknowledging our need for Thy guidance in all things, and laying aside all private and personal interests, we beseech Thee to grant that we may conduct the affairs of this House and of our country to the glory of Thy holy name, the maintenance of true religion and justice, the honour of the Queen, and the public welfare, peace, and tranquility of New Zealand, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.’

Given the way our MPs ‘conduct the affairs of this House’, either God isn’t giving them enough guidance or they aren’t listening or there is no God. There may well be a constitutional argument for getting rid of the parliamentary prayer, but it is nowhere near as strong as the argument advanced by the total disregard shown by our politicians for  the conduct and values to which they nonetheless continue to say  ’Amen’.

Our national anthem makes further nonsense of the concept of New Zealand as a secular state.

God of Nations at Thy feet,
In the bonds of love we meet,
Hear our voices, we entreat,
God defend our free land.
Guard Pacific’s triple star
From the shafts of strife and war,
Make her praises heard afar,
God defend New Zealand.

According to the most recent New Zealand Census  one in three New Zealanders have no religion and therefore cannot in conscience join in the singing of their  own national anthem.   And what person with an ounce of dignity or self respect would want to sing that obsequious dirge anyway?  Give me La Marseillaise any time.

Religious propaganda is everywhere.  Check out any news bulletin on almost any night of the week. When anything good happens, we’re thanking God; when anything bad happens we’re praying that it won’t happen again. I sometimes wonder why it does not occur to people that if God failed  to prevent the last thousand human tragedies and natural disasters, he is unlikely to turn up to prevent the two thousand and first. You’d do better to take your chances with Superman.

Whoever’s right or wrong – and if we’re right,  we atheists will never know it – the propaganda balance between believers and non-believers is somewhat unequal.  So it seemed rather mean-spirited, not to mention chicken-livered  of the God-botherers to use their ticket-buying power (or more likely their Supergold cards) to prevent  their fellow citizens being exposed to the anodyne little opinion that ‘there’s probably no god’.

I take heart from the sure and certain fact that nothing can draw more attention to a commercial than banning it.

And in the meantime, I assume that New Zealand Bus will not be displaying any signs that say ‘God is love’ or ‘Jesus saves’.