One might suggest it depends on the definition of 'church'

These people are trying to expand the traditional 'church' to evolve one into a place where people can build community without the religion/god stuff. Did you read the article? It sorta explains it all and I am wondering if a few people might have skipped that part. ;^)

I did read it and I understand any group needing a sense of community,however the very meaning of the word athiest is one with NO spiritual beliefs so why call it a CHURCH? Call it something else!

"The Community House of Ideas"?
"The Community House of Discussions"?
"The Community House of Science"?
Any other suggestions?

As long as the athiests don't call it a church anything is ok with me as the use of the word church in reference to a gathering of athiests doesn't fit somehow! Look everyone has a right to believe whatever they choose, however the use of the word church in the same breath as the branding athiests just doesn't make logical sense! It is not my intention to insult anyone with my comments on this issue but calling it an athiest church just doesn't make sense as the whole emphasis of athieism is Not to believe in religion or a religious format or so my athiest friends have told me anyway! While I do have spiritual beliefs organized religion to me is a total turnoff generally as it's about power and control of members of an organized religion not community although there are exceptions!

The word "church" is my reason for suggesting other options. Just kinda sends the wrong "vibe". ;-)

No doubt about it and you'd think that the athiests involved in this would see that!

Well, it was originally founded by two comedians so I guess the word “church” was intended as an irony but since it has grown and they are thinking of expanding as a Serious community organization I would suggest a new name.

"Churches" have legal protections and tax breaks even when they serve mostly as country clubs.

nobody forces anybody to go anywhere or talk about anything. SOME people crave community and fellowship, and there are some atheists in that demographic. This is a nice venue for those people. What's wrong with that? Not all atheists think and feel the same way and one size does not fit all. What's the problem with having more opportunities for people who want community? Not all community cravers are Christian or followers of other religions. People get to have their needs and find ways to constructively meet those needs. This would likely work for many people who don't really have any other venue for building a fellowship, a nurturing group that can be an important part of their lives.

Lonely is not good all the time for all people. And masses of lonely people are not good for society.

Good points, unimatrix. Very true. Atheism is still not widely accepted....especially in certain areas of this country. I think it's wrong that people feel they can be religiously fanatical but then have a problem with people being adamantly anti-religious.

I like this post... and I'm totally on board. I'm not at all religious... but one could say that I am spiritual. I used to be an atheist, actually... but I realized that atheism (the belief that there is NO god) is just as closed minded as a view that God most assuredly exists. I believe that, to say that God DEFINITELY does not exist, takes the same leap of faith that a Christian mind does.

Though, I understand the real issue is with religious zealotry and blind following of dogma... and that is something I certainly oppose. Or, more specifically... the use of religions as a tool for ruling class control over the people. That's absolutely horrible and destructive. That's what most religions are, at their core. Control schemes...

BUT in a sense... atheism adopts some of this same steadfast attitude and applies it differently. It's just the opposite end of the spectrum. It's a purely absolutist and materialist viewpoint. although I think atheists will always tend to be more in line with my views, I still think assuming anything about the "transcendent" is... a little presumptuous.

I should also note that my spiritual leanings are based on science... and science, if you ask me, is more or less pointing to the idea that there's more to consciousness than just material. Quantum mechanics is showing us that consciousness needs to be considered when trying to understand the universe. Which is to say that time and space are, to some degree, human constructs.

BS Uni you are a fundementalist who denegrates those with a belief in God or an after life and you have advocated for them to be riticuled in public life as you claim Atheists are now. You are no different than those you claim to oppose.

i find fundementalists of all color to be a bore.

FYI, I'm an agnostic. All I was saying is that all people should have the right to be who they are no matter how good or misguided. Just so long as they allow the same to others.

Just so I'm clear, I agree.

Don't deflect. I'm not bashing Atheists I'm bashing you for hypocrisy in your constant attacks of believers as unfit to have social standing among their peers while crying foul for the plight of Atheism at the hands of others as fanatical as yourself. So you talk to the hand now master deflector.

Way to flag what I said in return to your reply which you removed so as to make out like I attacked you unprovoked even though you used the same derisive term to attack me. Just so my point is not completely lost to the audience reading these posts here is my flagged post with out the returned personal attack you made to me first in your post I was replying to.

Re-posting reply to Unimatrix0

I don't give a shit if my own father was an Atheist, your still a hypocrite. You whine out one half of your mouth about "them", and spew the same garbage as "them" out the other side of your mouth. You will never garner any sympathy from those who see your hypocrisy for what it is. You claim you want to free people from the tyranny of them, not so the people might be free but so you and your ideology will have no competition in ruling those same people with your dogma.

"From what I here you say, you seem to think atheists are fine as long as they hold their tongue, remain silent, and not hurt the feelings of those operating under religious superstition. While I, on the other hand, think atheists should speak out, and not be silenced because they might hurt the feelings of the ignorant and/or superstitious."

You are correct I believe atheists and those of a religious Dogma should hold their tongues and stop attacking others who do not share their views.You like the religious fundies think you have a duty to piss on everyone's parade and act like your doing us all a favor.

Curses! On you!

That is one reason why I have always been so vocal about my atheism, to let others know they are not alone.
That is a noble aspiration; so why cloud it with such obvious disdain for those who choose their own path? Personally I am Wiccan, and while I do NOT believe in an omnipotent God, I most definitely do believe in a Mother that encourages us to think for ourselves AND CAST SPELLS AGAINST THOSE WHO MISJUDGE THEIR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS!

Pwr 2 the WITCHY WICCAN peons!
GUILLOTINE HYPOCRISY!

p.s. I am the one who flagged your comment to hombre76!

I am in your corner on that one, hombre.

From what I here you say ---------- your 'here' is wrong ... it should be 'hear;' and yes, I do realize I'm being the 'grammar police' but if you want people to take your words seriously you should use them correctly! Cheers.

As long as you flagged Uni too. :)

It was the comment that uni wrote to you that I flagged -- I honestly agree with what you have said :-), and I have not flagged any of your comments.

Get real uni -- all your psychotic anger has ever done to me is show me how deserving you are of my pity. I have never engaged in any form of racism and your inability to see the truth simply proves both my point and Hombres' -- why do you find it so difficult to simply express your feelings on a given subject without attacking those who see things differently? Isn't it time you let go of YOUR simple-minded anger??????

Pwr 2 the WITCHY WICCAN peons!
GUILLOTINE HYPOCRISY!

You talk of casting spells and you call me psychotic? Thanks for the laughs!

And we both know that you were caught red handed making racial slurs numerous times, and even after many people told you that you were being racist you continued. Your attempt to deny this fact at this point in time seems a bit silly.

But I do want to commend you, because it does seem that you have gotten the message, and you have been keeping your racism to yourself. Thank you for that.

Cheers!

Yes it's true, I have moved on -- now I simply refer to him as the obadrone as that fits him almost as well as BUSH-DARK does :-)! Cheers.

Pwr 2 the WITCHY WICCAN peons!
GUILLOTINE HYPOCRISY!

Weak Uni. You have just shown everyone your petty nature with your usual flare. Your response to wolf amounts to a child insisting that they should not be singled out for reprimand because of some silly story about how someone else is worse. It's really pathetic. You should just stop now while some people here still have respect for you. Or not and be that person that harps on about shit nobody cares about...like Mish.

Excellent comment! And you seriously did hit the nail on the head :-).

Yes, absolutely.

Good points, youngdebater. Very good points.

You are so wise.

Great comment! ^^^

Ooooo! TED Talks for the masses (who can't afford attending TED in person) I like that! Reading the article, it sorta sounds like that would be the result, doesn't it?

And at each "service," the "congregation" could pass around the hat to raise money to bring in a variety of interesting and engaging speakers.

I wonder how much Neil DeGrasse Tyson would charge...

You're very welcome, brava! I sorta figured you might enjoy reading about this. I love your wide interests, very reassuring in this age.

Agreed, but because it is called a "church" I think the atheist part needs to be stated so that the atheists will know they have a "church" of their own. Maybe it could be named something else like maybe "Community House of Ideas"?

Absolutely! Was thinking it would work for just about anybody who didn't feel the need to pound their particular beliefs down the throats of others. There are so many who want to explore, learn, and yes, find community. It could be very healthy.

Had a pal who went to a great Episcopalian church in Tucson. That church had wonderful leadership and members. They had all sorts of great classes, study groups, discussion groups and explored all manner of things with the simple rule of Be Respectful. It was a great place. The Blessing of the Animals Day on the patio courtyard was always great. Lots of female priests in that church too.

My favorite Sunday School teacher took us to other houses of worship once a month and we got very nice, age appropriate, short lessons in many philosophies. He opened many doors and minds.

The Unitarian groups generally accept all comers with the only real expectation is a reverance for life and respect for all.

My daughter studied a bit about the Quakers and was rather impressed by what she saw/learned. She was especially moved by their wedding tradition: Community members coming together to witness the joining of the wedded couple, then each person spoke, offering thoughts, insights, humor, support, hopes for the couple. No body has to spend a bundle on fancy dresses, suits, or all the other things that drive up cost and unreasonable expectations. ;^) Hell, I might start going to weddings again if I could find some Quakers!

Thinking such groups could use the tax advantages too! LOL. Worship life, and enjoy some of the same benefits the established 'religions' enjoy. Seems as how atheists, agnostics, and others subsidize the traditional religions..... Fair is fair.

Yes, absolutely fair.

I grew up in the Methodist Church and like your pal had a great experience as a child and a young adult in the church. Our Assistant Minister, who ran our Youth Fellowship Group for 13 - 18 year olds, took us to other places of worship so we could understand the similarities and the differences of other religions with no judgement on which belief was better.

It wasn't until I reached 18 that I had a break with the church when the church elders turned against our fantastic Minister because he said in the pulpit (after people complained about his older's son long hair - this was in the 60s) that even Jesus had long hair. They actually fired him. I was so upset that I stopped going to church after that as I felt they were a bunch of hypocrites and as a result turned my back on all organized religions.

I still believe in a higher power, but consider organized religions one of the biggest ails in the world. How many wars are started because of religion? But, I do miss the camaraderie I had in the Youth Fellowship Group, even after all these years, so I would consider joining a group that discuss philosophy and spirituality as long as it wasn't a particular religion.

I agree. It's the whole 'church' thing that sort of bothers me as I equate church with religion.

Guess what? That favorite Sunday School teacher of mine... Methodist Church also! After several months of going to services with my grandfather, he found out about the visits to other places of worship and stopped going, so I was also a church dropout due to the distance involved.

I thought my Grandfather a narrow minded fool after that and I stopped trying to find common ground with him. Found lots of other people to love and learn from, and remember that great teacher fondly, for he was doing good works.

What a shame that your grandfather was so narrow-minded. He actually has missed a lot out of life because of it.

It sounds like your favorite Sunday School teacher was very much like my favorite Assistant Minister. I think people like them help form us and I feel lucky that I was able to have someone like him during my formidable years. Of course, I was also lucky that I had great parents who told all of us (brothers and sisters) that we could be whatever we wanted to be and always supported and encouraged us. They even excepted the fact that I turned my back on the church.

Too quiet. ;-)

If done well, yep, libraries. Heard a great speaker regarding modern libraries not long ago. She referred to the community library as 'the community's living room'

Sadly, one might be overwhelmed by people with religious agendas, both at, and even running any given library, so for atheists, maybe not the 'fellowship' they really want.

HA! Boy do I have some librarians for you to meet!

We do INDEED think of the library as our 2nd living room ... however , 2 months ago , i was accosted by a zealot there and had to slip out the back way to avoid them ... so your assessment is similar to mine .

In the case of the 'church' in linked article, the two comedians who started it up sorta decide on speakers. Thinking most groups would probably evolve along the lines of the Unitarians and have shared and rotating leadership with committee. After a while, I could see it evolving in some places to include teachers, artists, lay people with some particular skill or knowledge to share, maybe even presentations from local non profit groups that serve community needs or even service clubs. It would probably evolve along with the community in the group and one would hope most groups would grow mentally to embrace many facets of life.

Might turn into a series of 'courses' without specific class hierarchy and purpose. If a particular 'church' group was meeting needs of people, it would probably hum along. If not, or if some cliques formed to set up an agenda, it would probably fail due to people migrating away.

Great explanation. Thanks.

All the cool things they can do in the community ... there is so much fun to be had !

Just my guess, foos, but you are most welcome.

Life and hows it going