The opiate of religion

A new ad campaign in New York City subways states that “A million New Yorkers are without God…are you?” The campaign, funded anonymously, is being sponsored by the Coalition of Reason, an atheist group, in an effort to get the word out to non-believers that they are not alone. Figures are based on the most recent round of the American Religious Identification Survey, where 15 per cent of respondents listed no religion. Approximately 15 per cent of the City’s population is one million.

Many are up in arms over this, going as far as to claim that the ads discredit parents who are trying to instill morality into their children’s lives. The Coalition claims that they “…want to show New Yorkers there is a community out there where you can find like-minded people.” How can we reconcile these opposing feelings with the obvious caveat of freedom of religion? Do the ads go too far, or is it time that secularism begin getting equal attention to monotheistic religion?