Triangle Freethought Society Launches New "Out of the Closet" Billboard Campaign

View the Press Release for our Out of the Closet Billboard Campaign.

Donate to our billboard campaign.

In April 2011, we flew 12 new billboards across the Triangle, with personal quotes from local non-religious members of Triangle Freethought Society (TFS)!  The billboards are appearing in Durham, Pittsboro, Raleigh and Smithfield thoughout the month of April. The effort is part of a nationwide campaign conducted by our parent organization, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), which aims to show people that their non-religious neighbors are friendly, moral, and family-oriented.

Here are the 12 billboard images:

Raleigh

Raleigh

Pittsboro

Raleigh

Raleigh

Raleigh

Smithfield

Smithfield

Pittsboro

Durham

Smithfield

Smithfield

“We are very excited about this billboard campaign. This is the first campaign of its kind, in terms of number of locations and geographic diversity. We are not scary people in faraway places…we are your friends and neighbors.”, says Mark Zumbach, our TFS President. The local campaign, underwritten by FFRF, centers on families and individuals who want the Triangle to know that they live happy and productive lives without religion. Each billboard contains a quote from the individual(s) pictured.

Eric Thomas, a community member who is pictured on one of five billboards in Raleigh, explained why he wanted to be part of the campaign: “By putting a human face on atheism, I hope to contribute to reversing the demonization of atheism that occurs so often…I want non-theists' concerns to be adequately represented in society.”

Collette Winkler, one of two teenage sisters who will be pictured on a billboard in Durham, states that when she was in elementary school, a boy harassed her because her mother talked about evolution to her college students. Collette says that the boy wore religious t-shirts that said things like “Got Jesus?” to school, and “this was okay, but teaching evolution was not.” The quote Collette and her sister chose to put on their billboard is, “We put all our faith in science.”  

Ultimately, Zumbach wants people to know that non-religious people are here in the Triangle area. He states, “Our target audience is made up of freethinkers in the Triangle, and we want to let them know they are not alone. In addition to Raleigh and Durham, we wanted to reach into some smaller surrounding communities, because we often hear from freethinkers in these smaller towns that they feel particularly isolated.”

If you are a freethinker, please consider joining us! If you are interested in learning more, you are welcome to attend one of our monthly meetings.

Join us for our National Day of Reason event on May 5th where we will demonstrate for separation of church and state on the North Carolina State Capitol grounds.  Please check back soon for more details. 

View the Press Release for our Out of the Closet Billboard Campaign.

Donate to our billboard campaign.