By Cate Owen
An atheist group is defending plans to raise $10,000 to run a controversial slogan on the side of New Zealand buses.
The advertising slogan reads: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life".
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The adverts created a storm when they ran on British buses earlier this year, and are now set to hit New Zealand.
Simon Fisher, an atheist campaigner heading up the adverts, says the group wants to raise awareness of atheism and reduce stigma attached to the label.
“There’s a lot of negative connotations out there,” he says.
“We basically want to promote the idea of atheism, obviously, and secular humanist values.”
He says the campaign is not a rally to increase atheist numbers.
“That would become a religion, wouldn’t it? It’s more generally raising awareness of these issues and debate in society.”
Mr Fisher says the money raised will go to the advertising campaign – and at this stage it is about getting the debate into the public sphere.
“We might move towards other things and possibly charitable things,” he says.
Mr Fisher said that although donations were rolling in, so were abusive emails from opponents.
However, messages threatening that Mr Fisher would "go to hell" did not really bother the committed atheist. He expected the campaign to be "a bit" controversial.
“You can be good without God. There’s no need to believe in a supernatural being.”
In the 2006 census, 34.7 per cent of New Zealanders said they had no religion.
3 News/NZPA