This article was from the Sunday Oregonian on Sunday, November 17, 2013 by Gillian Flaccus, AP, Los Angeles.
“It looked like a typical Sunday morning at any mega church. Hundreds packed in for more than an hour of rousing music, an inspirational sermon, a reading and some quiet reflection – the only thing missing was GOD!”
Dozens of gatherings dubbed, “atheist mega-churches” by supporters and detractors around the U.S. and the world are finding success. In Britain, fueled by social media and spear-headed by two prominent British comedians who are sponsoring a tongue-in-cheek, “40 Dates, 40 Nights” tour in the U.S. and Australia are hoping to drum up donations of more than $800,000 to launch their pop-up congregations around the world.
They don’t bash believers, but want to find a new way to meet like minded people engaged in community and make their presence more visible in a landscape that has been dominated by faith and institutional churches over the years. It dovetails with new studies that show an increasing number of Americans drifting from any religious affiliation.
The “Pew Forum” on Religion and Public Life released a study last year that found 20% of Americans say they have no religious affiliation. That is an increase from 15% in the past five years. This included people who said they believed in God but had no ties with organized religion and people who consider themselves “spiritual”, but not “religious”.
Sunday Assembly (whose motto is “Live Better, Help Others, Wonder More”) taps into that Universe of people who left their Faith, but missed the community that Church provided, according to Phil Zuckerman, a professor of Secular Studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.
Please go back to Wed. Oct. 23, 2013 blog posted by OCW Steering Committee titled “Insiders and Outsiders” by Bishop Mike Rinehart! That’s all I’ve got to say—AMEN.
Chuck
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