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Opinion on the Atheist "Church"?

jonman122

jonman122

Active Member
Britain's 'Atheist Church' Set to Go Global : Discovery News

A group out of Britain set up shop in an old church and holds group gatherings there every sunday, except without any mention of god or any real demand of it's adherents (other than behave, I suppose.) Some seem to think this might be a bad image for the Atheist community as a whole, what with us already having to deal constantly with people accusing us of being a religion.

Will having this new community actually give them some weight in their argument, or is it a fair idea to have a place where Atheists can come together and do fun, community oriented things with other people of like mind? Without having to be afraid of stepping on other peoples toes if they bring up evolution or other scientific theories that don't coincide with someones religious beliefs?

I personally think it's an interesting idea that deserves some thought, maybe in a mostly non-profit donation sort of way, in that all of the funds would go to activities and rent of whatever buildings would be used.

But I'm a lot more interested in what eveyone else thinks. (Especially the religious people here)

(I haven't seen anything about it here on the forums yet, but if I'm wrong feel free to correct me)
 
Me Myself

Me Myself

Back to my username
Atheism is no religion the same way theism is no religion. Both can be PART of a religion though.

In any case, I wonder if it is an "atheist" church or a secular one, if you understand what I mean. :D

I d be more inclined to call it aatheist "club" but then again, they ll be called however they like :D
 
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Gjallarhorn

Gjallarhorn

N'yog-Sothep
Having an atheist church is on par with having a Sci-Fi fan church or a knitting club church. Read: it's incredibly stupid to call it a church.
 
9Westy9

9Westy9

Sceptic, Libertarian, Egalitarian
Premium Member
agree with gjall. Stupid idea. If groups of atheists want to go around doing charity work or having group meetings then fine but don't call it a church. It's hard enough trying to convince, some people, that atheism isn't a religion as it is.
 
Gjallarhorn

Gjallarhorn

N'yog-Sothep
Pegg said:
even athiests have a spiritual need :)
Click to expand...

Assuming this isn't simply an occult way of saying "atheists need God", sure. Almost everyone needs the sense of purpose and community that organizations like religion provide. Some people get it from religion, some from volunteer programs, some from terrorist cells.
 
jonman122

jonman122

Active Member
Revoltingest said:
The idea of an atheist church is silly.
What we need is an atheist cafe.....which serves BLTs.
Click to expand...

I guess I should've said something similar, I don't think it should be called a church, but renting a cafe for an evening would be too small, apparently the people from the UK that are doing this were able to fill up the entire building they were using for their activities with people, to the point they were turning away many people at the door. It would need something much bigger, it looks like there are lots and lots of Atheists who are wanting to get more personal with the community overall.

... still could have BLT's though.
 
ChristineES

ChristineES

Tiggerism
Premium Member
Since atheists say that they simply don't believe in God, I don't see why they would need a Church/Temple/Synagogue/etc. It's not a religion. I just can't figure out what it's purpose would be. Churches/Temples/Synagogues/Mosques/Etc. are used for worship for theistic religions. Non-theistic religions would probably have one to learn to meditate (forgive my ignorance)or whatever.
 
ChristineES

ChristineES

Tiggerism
Premium Member
jonman122 said:
I guess I should've said something similar, I don't think it should be called a church, but renting a cafe for an evening would be too small, apparently the people from the UK that are doing this were able to fill up the entire building they were using for their activities with people, to the point they were turning away many people at the door. It would need something much bigger, it looks like there are lots and lots of Atheists who are wanting to get more personal with the community overall.

... still could have BLT's though.
Click to expand...

I agree it shouldn't be called Church. They could call it a gathering, a get together, a meeting, or whatever. :)
 
ImmortalFlame

ImmortalFlame

Woke gremlin
It really depends what goes on in the "church", really. If it's just lectures about secularism, science, etc., I think I could get behind it as a concept, although the name "atheist church" probably isn't the most accurate. But I guess that's part of the point of it. If it's just atheists "preaching to the choir", so to speak, then I'm not sure of the point of it.

From what I've read, I'm not sure how official the title of "church" is anyway. It's referred to simply as the "sunday assembly", which is a title I can get behind. Not too fond of their mission statement, though: "It’s a service for anyone who wants to live better, help often and wonder more." Like I said above, this doesn't sound informative so much as instructive, which kind of blurs the line a little.
 
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Me Myself

Me Myself

Back to my username
As I said, I wonder if it is an "atheist" church or a secular one.

I assume most of the day is not songs of how God doesnt exist and how great that is? :D

Besides, if there are no baby offerings to hail Satan, it cannot be properly labeled as an atheist church. ( sorry guys, somebody had to be objective here)
 
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