Religion foes' billboard sparks discussion, shrugs
By Electa Draper
The Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/****tlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelation****pId=1977147
Denver's secularists wanting freedom from religion have taken over one
corner in
the public square to make the point.
They've emblazoned a billboard six blocks from the state Capitol with the
message, inscribed over faux stained glass, "Imagine No Religion."
More than 2,000 religions have fueled division and rancor among peoples
and
hindered scientific and social progress, said Michael Lee Smith, local
spokesman
for the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The world would be better off
without
organized religion, he said.
The billboard, part of a national ad campaign, is scheduled to stand above
West
14th Avenue and Fox Street through June and July. It will come down before
the
Democratic National Convention because the rate for that period was
prohibitively high, Smith said.
The Fox Street billboard will cost local foundation sup****ters almost
$3,000,
Smith said.
"The religious right is not a majority, but it has a strong voice and a
lot of
influence," Smith said. "We want to uphold the separation of church and
state."
A construction worker on the block, 37-year-old David Rodriguez, said his
religion has been an im****tant help in raising his family, yet he respects
differing views.
Passer-by Joseph Sanchez, 23, said the billboard didn't upset him but that
he
doesn't agree with it.
"I'm not really big on organized religion, but I love religion," Sanchez
said.
"It's im****tant for people to keep religion somewhere in the back of their
mind
but not to take it too seriously."
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, the nation's largest association of
agnostics, atheists and devout secularists, has been active in Denver
courts for
many years.
Denver lawyer Robert Tiernan and the foundation worked to halt city
sponsor****p
of a day of prayer promoted by the mayor's office when Wellington Webb
held the
post.
In 1990, Tiernan and the foundation threatened a lawsuit and ended a city
subsidy for the Council of Colorado Churches' annual Easter sunrise
services at
the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
"I always sup****t their freedom of speech," council director Jim Ryan said
of
the foundation. "But the foundation is failing to acknowledge all the
moral
values and work for the common good that has grown out of faith
traditions."
The foundation also tried, unsuccessfully, to litigate removal of the Ten
Commandments marker on the Capitol grounds.
"The court said it was historical, not religious," Tiernan said. "The
courts are
so inclined toward religion it's disgusting."
Tiernan filed a lawsuit last fall, still pending, to end what he calls
Cherry
Creek School District's promotion of religion. He said the district lists
developmental goals for students that include weekly participation in
religious
services or activities.
"There's another point of view besides the religious," Tiernan said. "We
live
here, too. There are a lot more atheists and agnostics than people admit.
They
need to come out of the closet.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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