FMF pointed me to this piece about an atheist church. From the article:
The “atheist church” draws a variety of freethinkers, who identify themselves as skeptics, atheists, agnostics or doubters. In lieu of theology, these churchgoers cherish rationalism, and the motto of their church is “think”. The NTCOF [North Texas Church of Freethought] is concerned with issues of justice, honesty, and values, and teaches most of the same concepts of right and wrong as other churches, but they maintain that making the right moral choices has everything to do with rational thought and nothing to do with belief in a higher power.
My first reaction was “ew!”
…but then I thought, okay, maybe this is a good idea. If you want to do this, it would be good if it were organized into a flat structure where, instead of having a weekly preacher, all congregation members took turns contributing on topics of their choosing, which were then opened up for discussion among all attendees. Skepticism and challenge are valued and encouraged.
And THEN I thought, we already HAVE this. It’s called science! (And it’s not even restricted to just one day on the weekend!)
Do we NEED atheist churches for the plebes? I’m a plebe, and I’m asking seriously — if not slightly bemusedly. Is this a viable approach to ending the war on science?
