PHOENIX (AP) -- Controversial billboards touting freedom from religion and separation of church and state are going up around the downtown Phoenix area this week.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., paid advertising company CBS Outdoor to put up five signs that read Imagine No Religion.

"The message on the billboards will start to go up today and will remain there for a month," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of Freedom From Religion.

The organization said it is comprised of 12,000 atheists or agnostics and aims to promote free thought and the separation of church and state.

The group has put up billboards in other U.S. cities and so far, Gaylor said, there has been little opposition to the billboards, and she doesn't anticipate any issues in Phoenix.

Religious groups said they are seeing an increase in atheist activism.

"I don't have a problem with people expressing their points of view in public," said Bob Mitchell, senior pastor at Central United Methodist Church, whose congregation has around 420 members.

Mitchell said he hopes there wouldn't be backlash against the billboards, but he added he wouldn't be surprised if there were.

"I would prefer that there was serious tolerant dialogue that might emerge from this publicity campaign because it is much needed," he said.

State Sen. Linda Gray of Glendale is critical of the organization and its billboards.

Gray, a Republican, thinks the signs will be offensive to those who believe in God.

The five sites chosen by the organization for the billboards were changed after CBS Outdoor said they had to be 1,000 feet from any schools or churches, Gaylor said. The sites were finalized late last week.

CBS Outdoor was not available for comment over the weekend.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

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