Atheist that goes to Church?

I don't believe in God and I've been going to church recently with (a few of my family members, not my siblings or my parents) which one is an Atheist as well. The reason I go is just to spend time with them.

My perspective of Church

It's kind of weird going to church and seeing all these people worship something that I personally don't believe in, I don't mean this in the wrong way, but think of it from my perspective. Imagine you where sitting in a building with 20 or more people worshiping the "tooth fairy" or a GOD you don't believe in. I am not comparing God to the tooth fairy, but just bare with me here while I TRY to convey my point. They sing about terrible songs (just my opinion, but church songs are terrible) about how great the tooth fairy is, they read passages from the bible about the tooth fairy, every now and then they ask the people in church to pray for a certain person who isn't doing so well (which in my opinion is just about as good as asking the tooth fairy for a dollar when you lose a tooth.)

The reason I use the Tooth Fairy to convey my point is because the preacher could have been preaching whether it be about God or the Tooth Fairy, it wouldn't have made a difference to me. I don't mean that as an insult to those who believe.

What I can't wrap my head around is if something good happens believers thank God, but if something bad happens to that person they don't think it had anything to do with God. Why is that?

Now I used to hate going to church when I was a kid, I hated sitting still, but I still believed what my parents believed in.

What I like about Church

Foremost I just like spending time with my two family members, so it doesn't bother me sitting in church for an hour or two. Hell I spend most of the time talking to the Atheist family member (which he/she hates being there).

I do like some of the passages they read from the bible, because some of it does make sense. Now I can't remember what these passages are, but I remember sitting in church and thinking "well that makes sense to me as an Atheist". Just the way the bible is worded makes it interesting to read or to listen to.

I like not being alone, I'd do just about anything to spite my loneliness. One of the big reasons why I can sit in the Church and not be bothered by it. I don't have a problem with those who believe, it's just that if I had somewhere else to be I'd be there. Which brings me to my next reason.

People who go to Church are pretty nice people, maybe if I told them I was an Atheist they would kick me out, or maybe they would let me stay, who knows. I'm kind of tempted to sit alone with the preacher and tell me that I don't believe, just to see what he thinks, says, or does.

I like this song :S

What do you think? Is there any other Atheist who go to church forcibly, or on their own free will?

So, do you go to Church to meet with your family? And I don't think the church would kick you out, they want non-believers to come to them unless they're either Orthodox and then you're apparently only allowed in the narthex (entrance) of the building or just mean.

If you lived in the UK, there's a recent organisation that tries to bring the benefits of a Church under a secularist/humanist banner. It's called The Sunday Assembly I think. Not for me but might be worth a look at for you: http://sundayassembly.com/

@ccraft: I think it says good things about you that you are willing to put your own beliefs aside to spend time with your family, and that you can find your own enjoyment doing something you wouldn't normally do :)

That said, I'm also a church-attending atheist. Not too regularly, but I like to go and sit in our local church sometimes. It's a beautiful building, really old, and I guess I enjoy the quiet time and the sense of connection to the past? Something comforting about it, there's a kind of peace there I don't find many other places.

Interesting OP.

As a Christian, I too find it odd that Christians praise God for every good thing that happens and fail to criticize him for every bad thing that happens. I haven't quite resolved this issue in my head. I tend to think that God is more hands off then we generally picture him. I don't think every good thing comes directly from God nor does every bad thing. I think God established the rules of the universe, and generally, what happens are just natural consequences of our actions and not supernatural interventions. God can and does intervene, but it's the exception not the rule. The problem is that Christians are told to give praise and thanks in all things, and I don't quite see why we should when things are going crappy. I could go on, but I'll let the issue rest for a time.

I heard an episode of This American Life than changed my perspective on church. It was about an atheist guy who had studied religion in depth and confronted his father about his religious beliefs. The atheist just did his best to rip his dad a new one with this giant diatribe, and the dad said, "Son, I know you have enjoyed learning these things, and I'm glad you've found something that suits your passion, but this is all I can tell you. Before I went to church, I was about to get a divorce from you mom and abandon the family, but I found church and I found God and they loved me and taught me a better way to live."

The atheist did not convert, but he did stop arguing because he came to a conclusion that I believe is true. You can't argue with love. You can't argue with goodness. You can't argue with compassion. Certain values transcend almost anything, and even if you reject God and the Bible, and group that is motivated by love has something admirable goin for them.

That's why when someone gets nasty with me, I try to bring it back to those fundamental values. It's hard, but I'm working on it.

@thedandyman: I think the church is Methodist . But I don't meet my family members at church, I'm usually at their house most of the week, then they invite me to go with them to church on Sundays.

@bumpyboo: Hey thanks! I only go Sunday's with them, I usually spend most of the week hanging out with them at their house. They're so nice to have me over there I don't mind going to Church with them, in fact I actually enjoy it because of them. As long as the person is nice I don't care what they believe, hell I believe in some weird stuff and I'm an Atheist, what ever makes your life easier you know?

It''s one of the things I like about the Bible it's so old and so many people have read it. It's one of those things that stood the test of time. I do like the stars and moon more, people since the beginning of time have looked up at the stars. Orion constellation and the 7 sisters are my favorite, real easy to spot in the sky too.

@lvenger: I'm a US citizen sadly haha. Sounds neat tho

@ccraft: Oh absolutely, I could not agree more. I don't really see the point in tearing into other people's beliefs, discussion and disagreement is one thing but I don't personally believe religion is something a person should be looked down on for having. Life is tough for all of us, and if having that brings comfort to someone and makes it easier for them to get through the day, then surely it's just mean to try and take that away from them just to prove some point. To each their own, right? :)

I am a Theist, that doesn't go to Church. Not because I don't want to, but because I haven't been able to find one in my area that I enjoy. I carry my Church around with me all the time, I guess.

@ccraft: Ah, I see.

@batwatch: Oh wow, great comment man. I guess it does make sense why some would thank god for good things and ignore the bad. If there is a God he'd be just as you described, well that's what would make sense for me. If there is a god I'd doubt he'd go out of his way to get you a good deal on your car, something you'd never have found unless he gave it to you. We live in a very natural world.

@bumpyboo: I'd be lying if I said I wasn't like that on here awhile back, I found it to be very unproductive to argue about religion. But I never looked down on those who are believers. Life is tough and some people don't realize maybe religion is the only thing some folks have. I got to the point awhile back where I was so lonely I wanted to go to church just to reach out to new people, to sit in a room full of people with smiling faces.

@mr_ingenuity said:

PREACH IT BROTHER!!!

That's weird but different strokes for different folks I guess.

I find church to be pretty long so I hate going and noone in my family is an atheist so I have noone to really talk too. I dont go unless its like holy week or something and my mom makes me go with her or if lets say my uncle invites me I go cause my familys cool and I just couldnt stand myself if I said no.

I dont really like hanging out with my family unless its like playing sports or something. My cousins are snitches and I have no brothers so I tend to be very lonely. I dont mind being lonely but I really like going to school just because my close friends are there and I can tell them anything and to this day they have not said a single bad thing about me or snitched on me since we became friends.

Hmm this is the first time I have ever heard of this in my life. It is kind of interesting actually. But you know, If you're really willing to put your beliefs aside to spend time with your family that is very good. Apparently other people do it too because I see them saying it on this post.

@ariesxmasters: Atheist are among you and will take over the church!!!!!!!!

That was probably one of the least offensive Atheist threads I've seen on this site.

Respecting a belief even though it's different than yours. Well done ccraft.

Anyway, I think whatever you enjoy doing is perfectly fine. Unless the church is ridiculous, they won't kick you out. They want people who don't believe to come so that they can try to distribute their message. Obviously there are always a few bad apples *cough* Westboro *cough*, but most churches would encourage it.

As far as if it's "odd," I certainly don't think so. You've got valid reasons for going, and you respect their opinions whilst there. There are plenty of museums around me that emphasize Evolution, but that doesn't stop me from going. Heck, I've been playing Pokemon since I was a kid!

As long as you enjoy it, who cares.

Jmarshmallow

Its like Darth Vader going in to Jedi Academy full of younglings right?

@jmarshmallow: Thanks! I might talk to the preacher about it, but I wouldn't want to go on stage and argue my opinion. I'd rather it stay confidential, something I could talk to him about. I'm glad the tooth fairy thing didn't bother anyone yet, because it's not meant to. Just my perspective as a non-believer going to church, I mean I don't sit there imagining they worship the tooth fairy or anything, it's just hard to convey what it's like to be a non-believer in a church full of people who do believe. I do agree with some of they things the preacher preaches, just not the stuff about God.

@ariesxmasters: This is the first I knew a few Atheist went to church too lol, I figured I was one of the few.

We're here, we're non-believers, get used to it!!! :P

@darthvxder: Well when I was in High school I didn't have the problem with being lonely, I had friends, girlfriends, etc.. But I'm 20 now, live in a small town, it's had to meet new people so it gets lonely. Sounds like you got some good friends, a few of my friends turned against me in school.

And being a robot with dad issues isnt? lol

Exactly what I say to myself once I walk through the front door of the Church.

You underestimate the power of the Dark Side. If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny!

@ccraft: As an atheist I don't really see the point in attending church if you don't believe. You can find another 2 hours in the day to hang out with your family. It's nice to be open minded and observe the behavior of people who hold different beliefs than you're own, but I personally wouldn't incorporate into my weekly routine. This is primarily because my experience with church differs from your own.

When I used to go to church it felt boring. It didn't feel like people were sincerely their out of love, more of social habit really. You were there because all of your friends' families where there and they'd be there next week, just like their parents and their parent's parents had attended before them. If I'm going to perform any type of ritual, it will be because it brings me joy, not because my ancestors have done it and I feel the need to conform to an identity.

Apologies if this is blunt but I find your example to be quite frankly irrelevant. Those values are social constructs and most philosophers have concluded that there are no objective morality or values in the universe. We don't have a 'moral sense' for detecting them and they don't have tangible quality to them. There's nothing real about our morality, it's something we've made to help ourselves get along. And I find that vastly superior than these values "transcending everything." Believe me when I say you can argue with what your example claims and that many atheists and prominent speaks in that movement would have an answer to your example.

In any case, those values are not exclusive to religion. You're using a faulty double standard to protect the flaws of the Church when it's the Church and religion itself that is far more responsible for hurting said values. I've found that atheists and humanists are just as compassionate and good people as most ordinary Christians, especially in your home country of America. Christianity isn't motivated by love, it's motivated by bigotry, ignorance and superstition. All negative qualities that our current society has worked towards eradicating.

It's right that you fall back on those values but they're far from exclusive to the close minded and antiquated cult that organised religion has become. You don't need God to be good, that's what I've found in my years of becoming an atheist.

Heh, I sometimes go to church for my parents. I can't while in school, but in the summer I go occasionally. They say they "don't care", going to church does make them happier. Of course, in my situation my dad is the preacher so it is basically "supporting" him and 90% of my friends go that church so they are basically my 2nd family.

That's Cool, Deists go to Church too... the Black Churches are Fun because they have Significantly Superior Music than the White Churches... then you have that Big Dinner that comes after Service with the Church's and Popeyes Chicken and BBQ Ribs...

You See Church For The Most Part Is Just A Big Show That Man Puts On To Claim How Much He Loves GOD And Then After A Couple Of Hours Of Singing, Preaching, Praying, Collection Plate Waving and Ass Shaking. You Get To Go Home.

@ccraft: And then Jesus appeared with Having the High Ground?

I totally agree. I normally try to abstain from commenting on threads about religion because the debates get so heated, but this post was too great for me not to comment on.

Church is a fantastic way to socialize, and I'm under the impression there's a surprisingly large amount of atheists that go to church just for the social aspects. Honestly, I don't think it does any harm as long as everyone is respectful.

@lvenger:

Hey Lvenger,

I'm a bit confused by your comment. What example did I make and what was it an example of?

It seems you are taking exception with me saying that there are some values which transcend everything and cannot be argued. I was speaking in general terms for the sake of not making my comment so nuanced as to be useless. People do this a lot.

For instance, I say I love pizza though if you take this as an absolute statement instead of a general statement, my statement becomes nonsense. I do not love every pizza. I do not like moldy pizza, I do not like uncooked pizza, and I do not like pizza with egg on it. However, it's easier to say, "I like pizza," then to spend ten minutes explaining the exact parameters of pizza which I enjoy, and every reasonable person understands what I mean when I say, "I love pizza."

Similarly my statement about there being no argument against love is a general truth. It is, of course, possible to argue against anything. It is also true that there are some people who do not appreciate the concept of love such as people who have severe mental illness or brain damage and people who have chosen to dedicate their lives to hate. However, these are the vast, vast minority of people on the planet. No matter where you go, most people understand love and good will towards mankind and appreciate it even if they don't embrace it themselves or have a distorted view of it, so I have no problem believing in some fundamental moral values that the world (and I mean the vast majority of people in he world) shares.

You claim that morality does not truly exist and there are no fundamental truths. I don't find this to be true. Certainly, a lot of moral values do change from place to place, but certain basics apply everywhere. There is no place on Earth (excluding crazy people and this is the last time I'm going to explain the obvious exceptions to general statements) where I could walk in to a random house, slice off someone's arm and have them say I was in the moral right. Everyone now missing an arm would condemn my actions as immoral. There is no place on Earth where I could walk into someone's home, steal their most valuable object and not have them condemn me as a thief. People have a fundamental right to life and property, and all people who are not insane know this on a gut level.

You argue that the values I mentioned are not exclusive to religion. I agree with you. That's why I said they were transcendent. Everybody gets then on some level.

You said I use a double standard to protect the flaws of the church. What double standard? What flaws did I protect?

You claim that you are working towards ending bigotry, yet the only person I've seen attack another group in this entire thread is you attacking all of Christianity.

It's also worth noting that if you are right in that there is no real morality, then your goals of ending bigotry, ignorance and superstition are meaningless for there is nothing wrong with any of those qualities. In fact, condemning anything while saying morality does not exist is in and of itself a contradiction.

I never said you need God to be good.

Lvenger, you wrote this. "Christianity isn't motivated by love, it's motivated by bigotry, ignorance and superstition," and, "It's right that you fall back on those values but they're far from exclusive to the close minded and antiquated cult that organised religion has become."

I haven't condemned atheism as immoral. I simply talked about my thoughts on how difficult it is to give thanks to God in all things and then shared a story from an atheist who really changed my way of looking at church and helped me try to be a more loving person. In response to this, you attacked my way of viewing the world and condemned all Christians in harsh terms. I'm not offended, but I'd like you to honestly ask yourself which of the two of us is being close minded.

mmmm pretty interesting.

@aquaman01: Are you an Atheist?

@batwatch: Love is my religion, I try to practice it everyday, it's the most important thing in my life, you can do so many go things with love and kindness. And at the end of the day isn't that what most religions are about?

"It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done."

— Vincent van Gogh

@squares: Honestly this church I go to isn't very sociable, I'm like the only one who goes there whose in the age range of 18-25. But I see your point nonetheless, before I started going with my family I wanted to go to church to socialize.

@king_saturn: Is it just me or do you bring up black people in a conversation a lot? haha

I like not being alone, I'd do just about anything to spite my loneliness. One of the big reasons why I can sit in the Church and not be bothered by it. I don't have a problem with those who believe, it's just that if I had somewhere else to be I'd be there. Which brings me to my next reason. - OP

You didn't read all of my blog, I caught you red handed!

Nah Jesus never showed, Darth Vader was pretty pissed!

@ccraft: Yes.

@ccraft:

Well, there is a lot of important stuff in religion other than strictly love, but I agree that love should be the motivating factor of every religion.

Anybody who is doing there best to do what they think is right without violating other people's rights is someone I can respect.

@ccraft: Drats! You win. Take your pick:

or...

@ccraft: Such a shame. Could be epic.

You know that basket they pass around to collect money? Recently I took a nice $5 dollar bill from it. Still awaiting my punishment from God.

@regiebravo: Are you anticipating some biblical punishment from God, because I assure you you will be disappointed.

Interesting at least you have more patience than most "atheists" I have ran into.

@regiebravo: ' is that something to be proud about?

@kingvenus: yes because I bought myself a much needed cup of coffee afterwards and it was delicious.

Actually, there is a lot of us out there. In my family alone, I know of at least ten people who are atheist (this is cousins and aunts and uncles) and I think even a couple of nieces and nephews who have sought me out for conversations about God and what they think about our religion. Yes, we all attend church, attend all the special events to do with church and really enjoy ourselves when doing so. Even the funerals, not just for the comfort it gives and the assistance of closure and seeing how the dearly departed was loved by people, but the appreciation of humanity and our mortality.

I like the songs, I like the community, I like the art and I sometimes like the homilies given by the priest. I like people watching and I like being surrounded by people who are a lot like me, outside of the church. A lot of people take or leave a lot of what my religion promotes and if anything, they turn to church just for the significant occasions (Baptism, First Communion etc). Most don't show up except for Easter and Christmas. It's becoming awkward at times, especially with my friends who have and are getting married through church. They barely remember the prayers, have to attend marriage classes and are expected to attend church every Sunday for at least a year leading up to the day, haha. Makes sense and I agree that they should go through that, but they have and will go back to how they were before until they have a kid and then do the whole thing all over again when they have it baptised.

I am an atheist who sometimes goes to church. When I was living at home, I went every Sunday with my parents (sometimes Saturday evenings if we had to be somewhere the next day) and yes, even did confession at least once a month. Now on my own, I couldn't tell you where the nearest Catholic Church is, but when I head back home to visit, I am right there, reciting my prayers and going through the motions. I've managed to enjoy it, in my own way and a lot of my family and friends probably feel the same way.

In a weird way some of the words the preacher spoken a few days ago made me question if there is a God or not. I know our brains notice coincidences and try to spin it to mean something else. But I can't help but see certain bad things that happened in my life recently that brought me to my cousins, and in doing that I've made it to church. Was all those bad things meant to happen so my life would end up better?

Although I'm an Agnostic I like to believe things happen for a reason, and I like to give meaning to meaningless things. Do I believe it as divine intervention? No, not necessarily. I process coincidences as something meaningful, but I don't know I would give that credit to God, you know? I'll just do what makes me happy, and if going to church with my cousins and thinking things happen for a reason (without God) makes me happy, I'll keep doing it.

My church had a revival thing, it was really odd (few people were speaking in tongue), but it got people really excited. The atmosphere in the church was totally different than the previous times I went. I'll go into more detail in the blog above real soon.

@timelordscience,@jmarshmallow:, @batwatch:, @bumpyboo:

Depends on who you ask.

In my opinion, that would be cruel of Him. A truly benevolent God should not use misfortune to force people into worshiping Him.

Thus, I would say no.

Atheist that goes to church? Believe it or Not next on

oops.

@timelordscience: The world is cruel place, but like I said preacher just got me to thinking about it. God does some cruel things in the bible haha.

Huh?

@mutant_god: Haha more of us than you realized.

@ccraft: There's nothing wrong with thinking about it. You're welcome to explore as much as you feel necessary.

I just personally have an issue with that line of thinking. Because sure, the world is a cruel place, but the Christian God is supposed to be one of love.

I'm atheist and I love church!

• Lets you become friends with th community
• Gives great entertainment
• Free coffee and pastries

Not to mention that I don't really have anything better to do.

@timelordscience: I've never saw him that way, I mean he does some cruel stuff in the Bible. Like making Moses and those people wonder the desert for years. Many, many, many other examples.

why can't people just be content with living.....why does there have to be a higher purpose?at first you claim you are an atheist and now you are claiming you are agnostic. "was all those bad things meant to happen so life would end up better" no, thats an excuse religious people like to use frequently when they don't have answers. religious people say things like "god has a plan" and then they say " god does not interfere" its propaganda, they just say what fits the moment, they never blame god for bad things but they do however cherish him for good things.

You are here to live that is your purpose, people that think they should have a higher purpose are often self loving and narcissistic(along with stupid).

you can believe in god or a higher power...but its basically just wishful thinking, me i support logic and reason, there is no proof of any god or any higher power so why would i believe in one?

"god" is a man made thing, he is an idea, a man made fictional being to help little kids sleep better at night.

originally gods/higher powers were created to explain what we could not before. Now we are smarter and have more answers, we know about evolution now and the big bang we have more answers. Humans don't need god anymore the only reason this fictional character known as "god" is still around is because people are afraid...afraid of what the don't know so they are still believing in answers made up to make them feel comfortable.

sorry about the bad punctuation in school had to rush

Only we don't slaughter all of the Christians.

@thing150: You can be both atheist and agnostic...

being in atheist is not believing in a god/gods/a higher power

a agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves in a god/gods/higher power

the both kind of overlap a bit but they are different

not disbelieving in god, kind of contradicts not believing in him