Some Bus Drivers Refuse to Work on "Atheist" Busses

The Finnish Humanist Union and the Union of Freethinkers of Finland are funding the campaign, which puts huge posters on the sides of busses reading, “There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”.

However, some bus drivers are offended and have refused to drive busses sporting the ad. Some of the posters have been ripped off busses waiting at the depot.

Turku and Tampere Pull Ads

Turku and Tampere's bus companies refused to allow the poster, saying that it was in poor taste. The slogan was modified in these cities to say, "Enjoy your life as if it's the only one you're got. Because it is."

On the campaign's website, the chair of the Union of Freethinkers, Jussi Niemelä, says Turku and Tampere are behind the times.

"Helsinki is already a modern, international metropolis that has adopted European values," the site quotes him as saying. "The situation [in Turku and Tampere] has to be seen as an opportunity, though, and that's why we made the new advertisement."

The Atheist Bus Campaign was launched across the UK on January 6 2009, and now similarly-minded organisations in countries around the world have adopted the idea as well. Comedy writer/journalist Ariane Sherine initially started the campaign in response to evangelical Christian ads on London's public transport, which sought to remind the public about Judgement Day.