An atheist group has put up an anti-God billboard in Mississippi, which is known as the most religious state in America.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) placed a digital billboard message in Tupelo, Mississippi that reads "God Fixation Won't Fix This Nation."
According to FFRF, the digital billboard was placed on Friday at the intersection of Main and Gloster in the city. It will remain there for one month. It said it has 100 members in Mississippi.
"We lose sight of human needs when we fixate on gods," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "When we have faith in ourselves, we won't need faith in gods."
The FFRF claimed that the "billboard message is very appropriate for Mississippi," with 77 percent of adults in the state saying that they are "very religious," according to a Pew Research Center study.
Mississippi, the FFRF said, ranked at or near the bottom of quality of life, citing a 2015 24/7 Wall Street survey that ranked it as the worst state to live in. Mississippi ranked 50<sup>th in the survey.
"As in several other states with relatively more challenging living conditions, Mississippi residents are the least wealthy in the nation," the survey said, citing the state's average household income of $39,680 per year. "Poverty frequently contributes to poorer health outcomes, which in turn often lead to a higher incidence of premature death. The life expectancy at birth in Mississippi of 75 years is also the lowest in the country," the survey said.
The FFRF said it will be its first billboard in Mississippi and that it will be underwritten by a lifetime member who is a Tupelo resident.
It hopes that the installation of billboard will generate interest for the organisation leading to an increase in membership.
"We welcome with open arms any nontheists living in Mississippi," Gaylor said. "Groups like ours provide comfort and solace to folks whose nonbelief can make them feel like outsiders in their own communities."
