Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

organization that was behind the federal lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the National Day of
Prayer (Poole).
The foundation, with its focus on freeing government from religion, specifically targets the
religious community with its billboard messages, unlike the conversation-starter messages funded by the
UnitedCoR. The foundation’s messages include “Praise Darwin: Evolve Beyond Belief”; “Imagine No
Religion”; and “Sleep In On Sundays” (“Anti-religion”). The religious community had much to say in
response to this campaign. In response to a billboard posted in Atlanta, Christian musician and Georgia
resident Craig Gleason said the billboards did “what many who are non-religious accuse Christians and
others of doing – proselytizing” (qtd. in Poole). Rabbi Joshua Lesser of Congregation Bet Haverim in
Atlanta felt the FFRF missed an opportunity to develop allies with the religious community through its
“antagonistic tag lines” (qtd. in Poole). And Don Kemp, a Christian business owner in Georgia, felt the
notion of freedom from religion is merely a “dream” (qtd. in Poole).
The promotion of billboards throughout the nation was not segmented solely within national
organizations. The North Carolina Secular Association funded a $15,000 billboard campaign seeking to
remove “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance (Mesmer). This campaign created billboards that read,
“One Nation, Indivisible,” purposely removing “under God” that is found in the Pledge of Allegiance and
strategically placing them in the Bible-belt South (Harris). The purposes of the billboard, according to the
association, were “to show that even Americans who don't believe in God can be patriotic and to promote a
sense of unity” (qtd. in Harris).
It appears that residents of North Carolina didn’t find the appeal very unifying as one church in
Asheville created their own billboard with the words, “One nation, under God” (Harris). The billboard was
funded by a church coalition, We Still Pray, promoting the notion that America is founded upon God and
finding the opposite as “disingenuous” (qtd. in Harris). Other forms of disapproval of the billboards came in
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