A church for atheists
I always loved Church. The saying “hi” to people. The singing. The occasional thought provoking talk on living a life full of compassion and meaning. I just couldn’t buy all the God and Jesus stuff. The Sunday Assembly would be perfect for me If I only lived in London or Melbourne or New York.
Why should churchies get to hog all the fun?
Start one here ! There’s an active Humanist Group locally. Bet they’ll work on it too.
The Ethical Society has been running these for decades (AEU).
That’s where I went to Sunday School as a boy, many years ago.
My favorite bumper sticker of theirs:
“People should live lives free of superstition.”
There’s one in Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia (sorry, none in Delaware).
I’ve noticed that atheism has been coming out of the shadows over the past ten years. This international movement (with a decidedly young and hipster flavor) seems to be a part of that. Getting the various AEUs some attention and being more vocal in the community is going to be a good thing in the long run. I could even see an atheist being elected to congress, maybe, in the next 50 years.
@Stan – I have too many side projects going now. But if you start it, I’ll show up.
Stan, I’ll show up.
But only if I can program the music.
I go to atheist church every weekend morning. Catherine Rooney’s pub for the football from Europe. Look I’m a non-believer. I have “Kafir” tattooed on me in Arabic… but this is a bit vague to me.
If a dozen atheists go to the library and discuss books is that “atheist church?” If I build a clubhouse and invite five atheists over to listen to old Kraftwerk albums is that atheist church?
If I take a bath is it a private Olympic swimming event? If I play Grand Theft Auto is it amateur Formula One? I guess I don’t understand the strong desire to call it “church.” But whatever floats your boat…
“We don’t respect beliefs, we evaluate reasons.” -Sam Harris
Why not call it a church? Even your fellow soccer (SOCCER) fans feel the pull of group identity and participation. You can’t deny 100,000 years of evolution.
“People should live lives free of superstition.”
right up there with
“Christians aren’t perfect just forgiven”
There is no need to put others down for their beliefs. I find all proselytizers annoying from fundamentalists to atheists.
It seems illogical to me. Churches are for worshiping deities, right? What are they worshiping in an atheist church?
They should call it the Seinfeld Church. A church about nothing.
@Dorian Gray- Drinking pints at 10:00 am while swearing and watching the football (FOOTBALL), sounds like a church I might attend. Wish we had one down here in Sussex.
I love how Americans get so defensive when I called soccer football. Of course it is football. The people who invented it named it.
The point I was making is exactly that… gather with like minded people and discuss politics, drink beer, sing songs, etc… but I see no reason to call it church.
And Tom, there is a reason to criticize people for beliefs based entirely on faith if it in some way is imposed on me. Since churches get tax exemptions and religious people use the spirit of sky dad to make all manner of political and scientific argument, you get mocked and ridiculed. (Deep down you must know that it isn’t true, right?) By the way, that isn’t proselytizing. I couldn’t care less if you believe in any type of nonsense. Just please keep it to yourself.
@TM “There is no need to put others down for their beliefs.”
Unless those beliefs are being used to promulgate bigotry, homophobia, misogyny, racism, censorship, repression,…
And THAT’s the problem with those nasty desert religions.
Oh. And sorry to be annoying.
@fbh “A church about nothing.”
As if your church is actually about something??
I think you’d be surprised at the level of discourse at those meeting… sure beats repetitive chanting.
All humans appear to engage in tribalism, and religious practices are a core part of that. It appears to be in our genes. But some part of that is a lot more whacky than others. I’ll leave it to the rational among you to decide which is the whacky…
an atheist church is just a club. why call it a church? of course, church is basically a club, too, except to the fanatics.