I have been lurking about for a while now reading all sorts of posts for and against religion, and the logic of one side vs. the other.  Frankly, trying to decipher all of the logical debates is beginning to make my head spin!  I have come to believe that there are a large group of people that need to belong to something; they need to fill a void in their life (be it social, economic, etc.); and many of them turn to religion to fill this void.  Rather than try to persuade 1 person at a time that it isn’t logical for them to believe in Jesus, or God, or any other such spiritual creation, why don’t we show them an alternative way?  I for one would love to go to a “church” every (well, maybe not EVERY…) Sunday and listen to interesting speakers on all sorts of things, such as humanism, morality, etc. w/out the phony blongna mysticism and fairy tales.  I would love to see some positive community involvement w/out the strings attached that you have to believe in MY god in order for me to help you.  I would love to do things to help people—not by bribing them w/ food or economic help or by telling them lies about how they will live forever in Heaven, nor by threatening them w/ eternal damnation if they don’t accept Jesus in their heart, but by doing things for other people just b/c it is the right thing to do.  Helping people is the reward in and of itself!  Has anyone tried to start a “church” that is a church in every since of the word except for the belief in supernatural phenomena?  Churches do a lot of great things (and some do terrible things, of course, in the name of religion) and I suspect that there would be a lot more people coming over to the side of reason instead of spiritualism if such a thing were offered and implemented well.  We need to provide an alternative—a REAL alternative—not small meetings in dark alleys once a month.  The indoctrination of religion begins at birth, and we hope to change people once they are adults w/ logical debate?  Don’t get me wrong—these debates can be quite interesting, but I want to see some REAL change in this country before I die!  If people of religion believed what they wanted to and left everyone else the hell alone (sorry for the religious reference), then I wouldn’t mind as much.  But many “leaders” today, including “W,” are pushing their ridiculous spiritual beliefs on everyone and affecting MY way of life w/ their ideology.  It’s time for a change, and I would love suggestions on how we could affect a SIGNIFICANT move away from the dangers illogical spiritual groups pose and move the country towards a position of reason instead of “faith.”  Well?  What have you to say?

We’ve discussed this option in a number of threads here on the forum over the years. Suffice to say that this is a tactic that CFI is pursuing with some diligence, in opening centers around the country and affiliating with them around the world. But it takes time to organize well at the local level, and money to purchase or rent spaces.

On the other hand there are already secular organizations worldwide that provide regular gathering places for like-minded individuals who do not want to discuss religious matters. E.g., science museums, art museums, historical locations, public libraries, sports clubs, etc. And there are other organizations (forms of Unitarian Universalism, Humanist groups) who meet regularly as well; there may already be some in your area. So in the meanwhile there are secular options. As well, many secularists bridle at the conformity and regularization that occurs in church-like contexts. Will there be new creeds to which one must pledge allegiance? Will there be new rituals that one needs to follow? Sometimes the mere fact of meeting regularly tends to ossify people into forms of groupthink. That’s something that should be avoided, IMO.

It’s been done already.  There is a place in Ft Worth called Freethought Church.

There’s also the New York Society for Ethical Culture. It’s been around since 1877; read about its history HERE.

dougsmith - 06 August 2008 07:46 AM

There’s also the New York Society for Ethical Culture. It’s been around since 1877; read about its history HERE.

Thanks for the links!