What is amazing about the following story is the reaction of key Canadian religious figures to it. First, we begin with the background and a brief synopsis of reaction in the US and Britain, then we’ll move to reactions of Canadian religious figures, and close with the reactions to similar ads run in Washington D.C. and Italy:

RTFA: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM…

The atheist slogan, “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,” may soon be coming to subways and buses in Canada’s largest city.

The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada, inspired by a campaign that has plastered British buses with the phrase, has contacted the private firm that handles ads on the Toronto Transit Commission to see if the message would violate any rules. Organizers plan to launch a fundraising page on the website atheistbus.ca in the next few days.

The British campaign, which has inspired similar moves in Washington, Barcelona and Madrid, has sparked complaints to the country’s advertising authority and a backlash from the evangelical group Christian Voice, which has proclaimed that Britain is in “deep sin.”

Now for how Canadian religious groups are taking it:

Neil MacCarthy, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, said it was difficult to comment on ads that he hasn’t seen.

“The reality is that organized religion is often an easy target,” he said. “… At the same time, this type of campaign would likely generate discussion and dialogue around faith. And that can be a healthy thing, as long as it is done respectfully.”

The moderator of the United Church of Canada, Right Rev. David Giuliano, said he would rather see atheists say what they believe in, rather than what they are against.

But, pointing out that his church also uses advertising, he said he has some sympathy with the impetus behind the ads.

…

Mohamed Elmasry, founder of the Canadian Islamic Congress, said he had no problem with the ads: “They have a system of belief like anybody else, and they are entitled to live with this system and also propagate it among others.”

…

TTC vice-chairman Joe Mihevc, a former Christian theologian who has long sat on the ad-review committee, said he would welcome the atheist ads: “What better place to have one of the key theological, philosophical debates of our time but on public transit?”

Not a single religious group quoted said the Atheists were all damned to Hell and/or shouldn’t be allowed to post the ads. That’s a freakin’ enlightened society! I almost couldn’t believe these quotes when I read them. For me, anyway, this story is almost more interesting for the reactions of Canadian religious authorities than the ad campaign itself.

For a little comparison, here’s an article discussing the way people in the US reacted to a similar campaign being launched in Washington DC:

RTFA: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica…

[The American Humanist Association] launched our Washington DC advertising campaign on November 11 with the slogan “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.” The venue was the sides, rears and insides of 230 of the city’s buses. News coverage of the campaign generated an outpouring of phone calls and e-mails, mostly negative. The largest number came directly to us but hundreds of complaints also came to Metro, the government entity that handles the city’s buses and subways. One of the complainers expressed a wish (or perhaps a prayer): “May all your atheist buses break down!”

The sudden high volume of visitors to our special campaign website www.whybelieveinagod.org crashed our server twice. Soon, the conservative talkshow hosts were clamouring to give us air time so they could argue against us and further rouse their audience. And conservative Christian organisations not only denounced our efforts but encouraged their flocks to come bleat in our ears. All this before our bus ads actually started to appear one week later.

UPDATE: Similar ads banned in Genoa, Italy for violating advertising ethics code

RTFA: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM…

Italian atheists have lost a bid to run “no God” advertisements on city buses after strong opposition from conservative political parties, a member of the group said on Saturday.

The ads reading “The bad news is that God doesn’t exist. The good news is that you don’t need him” were to have been put on buses in the northern city of Genoa, home to the Catholic cardinal who is head of the Italian Bishops Conference.

The mock-up was ready and the contract was sent to the group for signing but the publicity agency changed its mind and said the ad could not run it because it violated an ethics in advertising code, according to Giorgio Villella of The Italian Union of Atheists and Rationalist Agnostics (UAAR).

“Right-wing politicians criticized us ferociously,” Mr. Villella said by telephone from the group’s base, adding that at least one bus driver in Genoa said he would refuse to drive a “no God” bus.

“It’s strange that in a country where ads depicting near-naked women wearing skimpy lingerie is permitted on buses that we can’t run ads about atheism,” Mr. Villella said.