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Godless Billboard Appears over the Billy Graham Parkway
Others Blanket North Carolina in Time for July 4th

For Immediate Release

(North Carolina, June 22, 2010) "One Nation Indivisible"

These words, superimposed over an image of the American flag, are
appearing on billboards across North Carolina--from the mountains to
the sea--in advance of the Independence Day week-long celebration. The
billboards, scheduled to run for four weeks, are located in Asheville,
Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

At a total cost of $15,000, they are being sponsored by the North
Carolina Secular Association (SecularNC.org), a coalition of local
secular, humanist, freethought and skeptical groups throughout North
Carolina, with additional funds provided by FreeThoughtAction, a
national organization whose mission is to "encourage the continuing
growth, open engagement, and public acceptance of a freethought
community in American society."

"This is a positive message of unity and inclusion for all Americans,"
said Joseph McDaniel Stewart, vice president of FreeThoughtAction. "It
is designed to bring atheists and theists together as patriots in a
shared society."

Stewart added: "When the words 'under God' were inserted into the
Pledge of Allegiance between 'one nation' and 'indivisible,' they made
a lie out of both those ideals because you can’t have an indivisible
nation if you draw a line between the godly and godless. We all belong
here."

"This concern is especially notable for North Carolina," said
William Warren. "It is written into the North Carolina Constitution
that one must believe in God to hold public office. Even if this
requirement can't be enforced because it violates the U.S.
Constitution, it's still there. Imagine how people would feel if the
state constitution required office holders to be white and male."

During the last election, nontheist Cecil Bothwell, a duly elected
councilperson in Asheville, had his right to hold office challenged
because of the state constitution's religious restriction. Article VI,
Section 8 disqualifies from office "any person who shall deny the
being of Almighty God."  It is listed first, ahead of the prohibition
of anyone convicted of a felony or anyone convicted of treason.

"As innocuous as this billboard is, it was rejected by one of the
three largest billboard companies in North Carolina as 'too
controversial,'" Stewart said further. "This just goes to show how
real our concerns are and how necessary our message is."

The billboard in Asheville is sponsored by the Western North Carolina
Atheists,the billboard in Winston-Salem by the Forsyth Area Critical
Thinkers (FACT)and the Forsyth County Chapter of Americans United for

the Separation of Church and State, the billboard in Greensboro by the Greensboro
Atheists Organization and the UNCG Atheists/Agnostics/Skeptics,

the billboard in Raleigh by The Ethical Humanist

Society of the Triangle, the billboard in Charlotte by the Charlotte Atheists and
Agnostics and the billboard in Wilmington by the Humanists and
Freethinkers of Cape Fear.

The billboard in Asheville is located on I-26. That in Winston-Salem
is on business I-40, .1 mile east of Rt. 150. That in Greensboro is
located on I-40, .4 mile west of exit 126. That in Charlotte is
located on the Billy Graham Parkway near the Boyer intersection. That
in Raleigh is located on Capitol Blvd. 0.1 mile North of Trewick Rd.

And the billboard in Wilmington is
located on at approx. 5939 Carolina Beach Road.

Other groups in the North Carolina Secular Association who are
sympathetic, though not participating directly with the campaign, are
the Atheists and Agnostics of Brevard/Transylvania County; the
Triangle Atheist, Agnostic, Freethinker, and Humanist Meetup Group;
and the Triangle Freethought Society.

For more details on the North Carolina campaign and for hi-res images
of the billboards, free for media use, go to http://www.ncsecular.org/

For more information contact:

William Warren

Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics
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