Residents of Colton in the state of California spoke out against a "Don't Believe in God?" billboard that has been put up by a secular group in their community.

They want to have the ad taken down, the Christian Post reports.

The billboard was sponsored by the United Coalition of Reason and is part of wide awareness campaign that the group said is aimed at reaching out to non-theists and informing them of the existence of community of like-minded individuals from whom they could draw support.

Several similar ads have been placed across various states including New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Texas.

"The point of our national awareness effort is to reach out to the millions of humanists, atheists and agnostics living in the United States," the statement issued by UnitedCoR National Coordinator Jason Heap stated. "Nontheists sometimes don't realise there's a community for them because they're inundated with theistic messages at every turn. So we hope our effort will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren't alone."

However, some Colton residents objected to the advertisement.

"I'd have them take it down, because God's real," one resident said in an interview with CBS2/KCAL9. Another resident stressed that each person is an individual, and "shouldn't be told how (they) should think or what (they) should believe."

Inland Empire Coalition of Reason, who put up the ad in Colton, denied that the ad was meant to offend theists.

"We want people to know that nontheistic folks like us are a regular part of communities all over the area," coordinator Jan Goings told the Christian Post. "Nontheists are your friends and neighbors, your coworkers and family members. Our nontheistic community focuses on service, and we care deeply about bringing justice and help to others: being good without a god."