When I was young, I had a conversation with my mom about people of different religions. I don't know how it started, but I probably made a remark assuming that all people were Christian or Catholics, and she corrected me. She told me that there were people who did not believe in God at all, called atheists.
That struck me kinda funny. I was curious to know what these people did when they went to church--I mean, what was there to talk about? I imagined a congregation in wooden pews, all looking straight ahead, fists pumping in the air, repeating, "We don't believe! We don't believe!"
That's what church must be like for atheists!
It didnt occur to you that maybe atheists don't go to church? ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, apparently, some of them do. UU congregations are open to atheists and agnostics and spiritualists alike. I wouldnt define myself as atheist anymore, but I wouldnt exactly call myself call myself a theist either. Rather, I'm probably agnostic with a seasoning of theism because I *want* to believe more than anything, but not so sure I do at all times really. As you know, even someone who believes has trouble believing sometimes.
Anyway, what UUs do in church is have sermons on a variety of topics from activism to environmentalism to social justice. And sometimes, depending on the speaker, they can be quite spiritual. I guess you can say we celebrate life as we know it now, ponder often where it could have came from, and affirm loudly our thankfulness for each day we have alive. I guess if you're a theist, this wouldnt be enough. But I like it fine.
Contrary to popular belief, some of our hymns actually include the words "God" or "Jesus." =) I would suppose this makes the atheists among the congregation squirm.
I find your image of the "We don't believe" chorus cute. As kids, we're all a bit self-referential...
We prefer book clubs and informal meetings to 'church'. Much more fun and intellectually fulfilling when everyone has a chance to talk, not just the guy in robes.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes...we wear robes. What of it? ;)
Moresecode,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment! And yes, we'd be more than happy to hear about the robes...
Frank
Think less priest, and more Jedi...
ReplyDeleteeh... priest, jedi... what's the difference, really?
ReplyDeleteHa ha. =) I'm definitely a Jedi Knight. Whenever I tell people how I perceive God, I always say that I believe it/he/she is like the Force.... ;) Ever the geek, I guess!
ReplyDeleteThere are those that say the current Pope looks suspiciously like Emperor Palpatine...
ReplyDeleteOh, morsecode, I hadnt considered that likeness... ;)
ReplyDeleteIts an uncomfortably uncanny resemblance. There are some good side-by-side comparisons out there.
ReplyDelete