Catholic group unveils anti-atheist holiday billboard: "THIS IS OUR SEASON—NOT YOURS"

The Catholic League, eager for attention, bought a heartless and desperate ad for Christmas

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Since it’s almost Christmas, the right-wing Catholic League has put up a new billboard wishing everyone a warm, festive holiday season… and I’m just kidding of course they didn’t.

Their hideous billboard, located near Madison, Wisconsin, proclaims “This Is Our Season—Not Yours.” As if they own winter… or December?

(By the way, it’s not even their season, historically speaking.)

That’s supposed to be a direct rebuttal to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, headquartered in Madison, which has put up “winter solstice” signs in the past. But even those signs were never anti-Christian so much as they were a reminder that this time of year is for everybody, not one group in particular. (And if the explicit proclamation of atheism is too much for you, well, what do you think a Nativity scene is but a statement of beliefs?)

At this season of the Winter Solstice, let reason prevail.
There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.
There is only our natural world.
Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

In the announcement of the new billboard, the Catholic League called the sign a “Christmas gift” to FFRF:

Every year the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a group of Christian-hating atheists, likes to erect a silly Winter Solstice exhibit at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. This year they are in for a surprise.

We have decided to send these activists a lesson, reminding them that the Christmas season is our season. We rule. They lose.

That’s… petty and pathetic and perfectly in line with how the Catholic League operates.

It would have been far more of a slam dunk to donate to a food pantry and say, “While other groups put up billboards, we help the hungry.” But this is what Jesus means to Bill Donohue and the people who work under him; Jesus is just a weapon to use against other groups while you’re defending the Catholic Church against countless allegations of wealth-hoarding and child-raping. Helping others is for losers. Dunking on atheists with the advertising equivalent of an ugly Christmas sweater is, somehow, a victory.

Donohue was just as kind when speaking to the Christian Post:

Donohue told CP that he hopes “our billboard emboldens Catholics, letting them know that we will not be bullied by our adversaries.”

Right. Because the true victims at this time of year are Christians who have to share the calendar with other human beings.

In case you’re curious, FFRF reacted with an eye roll, saying Donohue and his people “really know how to spread love and joy during the holiday season.”

It’s not really a “War on Christmas” when one side throws weak punches while the other side yawns.

The Catholic League’s billboard is even more pathetic when you realize the group has assets of over $53 million (according to its 2023 tax form), more than twice as much as FFRF. (Donohue himself makes over $700,000 a year and has made even more in the past.) And yet they won’t splurge on an extra few bucks to hire anyone with a background in graphic design… or copywriting… or to purchase replacement hearts for everyone in the organization. In fact, I guarantee that most people reading this couldn’t name a single thing the Catholic League has ever done to make anyone’s life better—even fighting in court to represent people who have been discriminated against—because the only thing they ever seem to do is issue hastily penned and extremely whiny press releases.

I realized that the purpose of the billboard is for the Catholic League to get publicity and writing about it at all gives them what they want. But it could also backfire. After all, if they need a billboard to trash atheists at Christmas, it tells you a lot about who they really are and how few concerns they actually have.

Donohue has been able to weaponize faith-based outrage with the help of a professional-sounding organization in a way he never could as Angry Man Who Blogs Out of a Basement. That’s why the Catholic League should never be taken seriously. Much like its evangelical clone One Million Moms (which is pretty much one angry mom who issues angry press releases whenever she sees gay people in a commercial), Donohue uses his group’s name to appear more important than he ever could be by himself.

Any reporters who cite the Catholic League without acknowledging that it’s just one angry wealthy guy who loves picking fights with everyone who doesn’t bow down to the conservative wing of the Catholic Church is committing journalistic malpractice.

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