Author’s Note: I wrote a lot of this piece before doing research on Ariane Sherine and reading her article “Atheists – gimme five” . I don’t feel the need to re-write anything in this piece but I feel like I should add more to it after the fact of being more informed. I might just add on some more or leave a comment below once I gather my thoughts.

So, I’m on the subway during the commute to school when I look up at the ads and my eyes stumble across this interesting message. I like how they use the word PROBABLY. Wikipedia defines Atheism as “the absence or rejection of belief in deities, or the explicit view that there are no deities”. If I had only one statement to show across the entire city and my goal was to spread my beliefs, I wouldn’t use the word PROBABLY.

Using this statement was PROBABLY a bad idea. Whoever wrote it PROBABLY didn’t think it would make much of a difference to anyone. Whoever wrote it PROBABLY isn’t confident in their words, PROBABLY worse is that she PROBABLY isn’t confident in their beliefs since she used the word PROBABLY.

Let’s dissect the FAQ on atheistbus.ca and their views on using the word PROBABLY:

Similar to the UK campaign, we Canadians wanted to ensure that we did not break any rules or advertising codes. The usage of the word “probably” is less offensive and less likely to offend someone far enough to appeal the campaign asking for “proof of non-existence”.

I thought that “shock-value” was supposed to be a good thing in advertisements. The government used it for smoking when they put pictures of deteriorated lungs and what not on the cartons of cigarettes. Yes, I know there’s scientific proof that cigarette smoke deteriorates your lungs you can’t deny someone their belief. It may be wrong that Jimmy believes that apples are blue but you cannot deny that Jimmy believes that apples are blue.

Another reason to say “probably” (as Ariane Sherine has pointed out on her campaign website) is because it’s a matter of accuracy. Although there is no scientific evidence for God’s existence, it is impossible to prove God’s nonexistence. [...] The fact is that we cannot see or test these things and just because someone say it’s true doesn’t mean it really is, especially when no proof can be given.

Why are you going to focus the tagline of your belief on a PROBABLY? There are definitely other ways to go about telling people what you believe. HECK, if you want to make a real statement, say something like, “I BELIEVE THERE IS NO GOD. I STOPPED WORRYING AND ENJOY LIFE” and put a picture of yourself in thumbs up position and a big goofy smile. That would make more of an impact on me.

We could have gone with Richard Dawkin’s saying that there “almost certainly” is no God but “probably” seems like a more friendly way to tell someone that their God probably doesn’t exist.

There is NO friendly way to tell someone that their God probably doesn’t exist.

I’m catholic and I also believe that people have the right to practice whatever religions or beliefs they have as long as they don’t interfere with another person’s beliefs. I don’t have a problem with people spreading their news, it’s the individual’s job to decide whether or not to believe what is being told to them. I have no beef with atheism but from an advertising perspective, this just fails so hard. Is there something wrong with saying that there is no god? It’s what they believe and they are entitled to believing it. I’m just trying to picture what the Apostle’s Creed would like like with a few PROBABLYs thrown in…

I PROBABLY believe in God, PROBABLY the Father Almighty, PROBABLY the creator of Heaven and Earth. I PROBABLY believe in Jesus Christ, PROBABLY His only son, PROBABLY our Lord. …I PROBABLY believe in the Holy Spirit…

There are no PROBABLYs when it comes to what you believe, or at least that’s how I roll. Again, I have no beef with any other religious, or non-religious views, but if you’re gonna believe in something, you might as well believe it wholeheartedly or just gtfo.