So a friend of mine recently told me about the Sunday Assembly http://sundayassembly.com/. Basically, it's a church-like gathering (singing songs, hearing a talk, coffee afterwards), but focusing on celebrating life and learning as opposed to a deity. They also do various volunteering things.
It looks like it's mostly in big cities in the UK/US/Australia, but a lot more are popping up based on their "coming soon" page. There is one in my area, but the next meeting isn't until next month so I can't report on it yet, but I certainly will if I go.
Does this appeal to you guys? Would you consider attending? I'm not sure myself but I think it's worth trying out.
An atheist church?
9 posts in this topic.
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That sounds nice. Church participation seems to be like a sign of good citizenship to our society, and it would be nice to have that opportunity without denying my beliefs.
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The idea of gathering for chat and coffee sounds nice, but I see no point in calling it a church. A church stands for a place or body of organised religion and its worship, which atheism is most definitely not.
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I think the name Assembly fits pretty well and fairly. If this were a thing in my area (I haven't looked yet) I would definitely go because, as a kid, the socializing part of Church was my favorite part of being raised Pentecostal...which is pretty much go to Sunday School, sing some songs, watch some old people get the holy ghost, and go to KFC and devour some chicken.
Calling it a church sounds like some bitter tongue-in-cheek attempt at taking the word away from the religious, which is really just a shame. -
Yeah, I also would prefer the name assembly.
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That sounds like a community group and has nothing to do with atheism. People who don't believe in religion just go about not worrying about that sort of stuff. Having something like that associated with them almost defeats the purpose. What you have described sounds, as I said, like a community group where people with a common interest, who happen not to be religious, would meet.
I can safely say that I would have no interest in something like that at all. -
There's some merit to be had, though. Some people really like the idea of Church--socializing with like-minded individuals, chorale singing, an inspirational message; there's an echelon where this concept belongs that is above "community meeting".
Besides all that, it's not really like atheism is something that you can anchor anything to due to its beautiful non-ambiguity. -
I think community service and community gathering is a great thing, but atheist church" makes no sense at all. Atheist literally means "against the belief in the existence of a god or gods." So it really is just a lack of religion, not a religion of nothing.
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Okay, so I hope no one was holding their breath waiting for me to actually go to an Assembly...but I finally went last night.
Overall, I'd consider it a positive experience. The assembly consisted of several readings and discussions of the Theme of the Month, "Gratitude" interspersed with pop songs related to the theme (e.g. "What a Wonderful World"). There were about 50 attendees, most of whom were either young adults or middle-aged. Not that many teenagers, but our older YWSers would probably fit right in.
Afterwards, we had the potluck. Since my decision to go was extremely last-minute, I brought a mostly-full box of clementines. The food was good and I actually felt pretty comfortable right away. I talked to a couple people during the "Ice Breaker" activity, where we discussed people we were grateful for, and I met even more people during the potluck. I can honestly say I felt more included and like I fit in than I ever did in my church-going days.
This Assembly meets the third Sunday of every month, but there's a lot of other small events to get involved in, including a meditation workshop, a book club, a "Wonder Club" discussing an interesting topic each month, and volunteering. I was told to check these out so I get to know people better, which I'll definitely do if my schedule permits.
I can see why people are put off by the "atheist church" label (so were some of the attendees/organizers I met with), but it didn't really feel like a church service. It felt a lot more open and informal (anyone interested in speaking or organizing things can do so).
Overall, I really enjoyed this and I'm excited about getting more involved. If there's one in your area (it's expanded a lot this year and more are starting up), consider checking it out.
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