Why 'Atheist Churches' Are Making Us Atheists Look Ridiculous

[rug]

By Drew Miller 6 hours ago

"Organizing atheists," said Richard Dawkins, "is like herding cats." That fact became quite clear recently, as one of the largest organized assemblies of nonbelievers suffered an internal rift. Some members of the Sunday Assembly — an "atheist church" founded by British comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans — declared that they would form a splinter group called Godless Revival, drawing comparisons to the hundreds of divisions within the world's major religions.

The Sunday Assembly split doesn't quite have the excitement of, say, the centuries of bloodletting between Sunnis and Shias, or Catholics and Protestants. But it raises an important question: do non-believing assemblies differ from theistic congregations in any meaningful way? Come on, atheists. You left the church for a reason, didn't you?

We shouldn't be surprised at the split in the Sunday Assembly. The lack of dogma means there's no one "right" way to not believe in the supernatural, so there's no way to prove either brand of humanism "wrong." But why are these atheists still gathering on Sundays?

There are a few likely answers to this question. Perhaps former churchgoers are simply too conditioned to seek guidance on Sundays. It's also entirely possible that many of the congregants simply see church-like communities as a good way to empower atheism. This is quite a stretch.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/79097/why-atheist-churches-are-making-us-atheists-look-ridiculous

[gcomeau]

1. Indeed.

People want a sense of community? There are countless organizations they can become a part of that don't idiotically try to emulate churches.

Nothing that calls itself a "church" has any business tacking "atheist" onto it.

[CFLDem]

2. +1

[LostOne4Ever]

6. + an extra 9000

I think this bumps your comment to over 9000 status.

[jmowreader]

11. Many of those organizations are closed to nonbelievers

Except for the Rotary and Lions, all the groups out there demand belief in a Supreme Being.

[cbayer]

12. Agree. I some communities there really are very few options for socialization outside

of the church or the bar.

[longship]

3. Not surprised about this.

It is a ridiculous idea anyway. All atheists know that if you put a dozen non-believers in a room, you'll have a dozen divergent opinions on non-belief. Plus, there will be a silly chair throwing battle about atheism vs agnosticism.

Plus, an atheist church is a contradiction in terms.

And it's fucking silly.

[gwheezie]

4. Oh my

I'm an atheist, I have a mild interest in religion but not enough to join an atheist church, although I do like the OT when I work christmas. If I did start believing in god, I would pick one of the dancing religions with colorful outfits, these atheist church folks in the article look kinda boring.

[mike_c]

5. this is just the craziest thing....

I utterly agree with the premise of the OP subject line. WTF?

[LostOne4Ever]

7. As I said before

There are better wastes of time and energy for us to explore. Like ridding the world of the scourge of Brussels sprouts (or Zucchini in deference to my good friend Cbayer).

[cbayer]

10. No, no!! Not the Brussel Sprouts!

[Warren Stupidity]

8. Secular Humanist societies have had "atheist churches" for over 70 years.

They don't have to be ridiculous.

[cbayer]

9. Interesting take.

Policymic generally represents the viewpoints of a rather young population. I wonder what the average age of attendees at the assemblies is?

At any rate, he bases this on some conclusions which may or may not be valid. Are the attendees looking for leadership or company?