Atheist debate sparks more talk

The “You can be good without God” ad campaign, which the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign fought to put on Bloomington Transit busses, sparked a heated debate.

This debate started conversation in the community and a discussion that took place Tuesday night at Collins Living-Learning Center.

“We are not trying to change anyone’s opinion. We just want everyone’s opinion to be heard,” Liz Eggleston, Wright Quad community educator, said.

The discussion covered the pros and cons of the advertisement and the effects it had on people in the Bloomington community, said Dylan Rudy, Read community educator.

Eggleston said the discussion really started in April, with the beginning of the Indiana
Atheist Bus Campaign. Bloomington Transit was the first to deny the “You can be good without God” ad. The bus company was then sued, and the Indiana Supreme
Court ruled Bloomington Transit had to run the ads.  

On Oct. 19, Woodburn 100 was filled with audience members watching a debate between Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and Dan Waugh, associate pastor of Adult Ministries at the Evangelical Community Church in Bloomington.

Students attending Tuesday’s event were met with an open discussion led by Eggleston, Rudy and Tanner Terrell, Collins community educator. The CUE’s started the discussion by asking the students what the implications of the pervious event were.

“This is not a debate on people’s morality,” Eggleston said.

During the discussion students gave their opinion about many different topics pertaining to the debate and the bus advertisement. Topics ranged from how the ad gave an unnoticed group a voice and why other religious ads are seen as normal but the atheist ad was seen as out of place.

“I think the most interesting thing is how religion manifested,” Eggleston said.
Eggleston discussed how on a bulletin board she made in Wright Quad, she asked:
“When you see the word God, what do you think of?” She said many people replied they thought of Christianity.

Senior Brian Slattery said he had been coming to a lot of residence hall programs, but with this one he wanted to see what other students thought.

“We really just wanted to offer a space for students to talk outside the debate,” Eggleston said.