Even Atheists Should Go To Church

I have a friend who is an atheist. Actually, I have a number of friends who consider themselves to be atheists because I'm an equal opportunity friend. As long as you're a person who is interested in learning, growing, and trying to make the world a better place, I'm interested in possibly having you as a friend.

However, this particular atheist friend of mine is unusual in that he goes to church.

Let me repeat myself... I have an atheist friend who goes to church.

In fact, he was recruited to help make some structural changes in this church where he attends and so has been very active in the inner workings of this particular faith community. He even confessed to me that times when he's attended worship, he's found some interesting reflections in the sermon that were helpful to him in his life.

Is your mind blown yet? Because it shouldn't be.

Yes my friend doesn't believe in God. Despite this, he has found some major benefits and possibly some community in this particular church. You see, belief doesn't preclude benefits of participating in a community of faith.

A lot of people think that participating in a church or temple is somehow a bad thing. They think that being a member of such a local organization somehow ties them to all the bad things that come from institutions.

Yes, there will always be annoying politics and sniping and all of that. Of course. We're still talking about people here! And yes, people are flawed (just to remind you - so are you - so am I!). But beyond that, we're also talking about a group of people who care for one another. This is how, even though I've only been attending my current church since April, they're throwing us a baby shower this Sunday. This is how even though we've been attending since April, I get hugs from multiple people every Sunday morning.

This is why faith communities are so great.

This is why even an atheist benefits from attending church. Because ultimately, the belief thing doesn't really matter. You can believe whatever you want alone in your room somewhere. No one knows...and no one has to care. BUT...you can't get that love and support that comes from community without well, community. Your thinking can't be challenged without some influx of differing ideas coming your way. These are the things that don't happen when you're alone in your room. These are things that happen at church.

I'm not saying you should go to just any church or temple. They all feel very different and each has their own way of doing things (It's a lot easier to believe whatever you want in a Quaker or Baptist community than say a Catholic or Pentecostal community, for example.). However there is a faith community that will fit with you. It won't be perfect, but none of us are. There will be things that may make you cringe. Hopefully one of them is your passion, and you can get hooked in and make something great happen even if no one there believes exactly the same thing you do.