{"id":132952,"date":"2024-11-25T08:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T13:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=132952"},"modified":"2024-11-25T17:24:52","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T22:24:52","slug":"first-things-sam-buntz-low-church-atheism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=132952","title":{"rendered":"(First Things) Sam Buntz–Low Church Atheism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By the end of the Bush years, the New Atheists believed they were fighting a vast, dominant American evangelicalism\u2014a literal theocracy! Some of them still feel that way. Yet so much has happened in the intervening years, and the tone and tenor of unbelief has generally changed. Sunday Assembly, a \u201cchurch\u201d for non-believers recently profiled on CBS<\/a>, exemplifies this metamorphosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the fact that it was founded in 2013 by two British comedians, Sunday Assembly lacks the anti-religious mockery of the Flying Spaghetti Monster crowd. Its tone is more therapeutic and upbeat. With sixty chapters globally, its motto is \u201clive better, help often, and wonder more.\u201d Services feature \u201ca TED Talk-style talk\u201d along with sing-alongs (\u201cpop songs mainly\u201d according<\/a> to the group\u2019s website), inspirational readings, and the sharing of personal stories. Coffee and donuts are served afterward. \u201cWe release a lot of endorphins,\u201d Amy Boyle, one of the group\u2019s leaders, told CBS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of Sunday Assembly invoke the word \u201ccommunity\u201d like an apotropaic gesture to explain their interest in attending. But real community always coheres around something. It does not exist for its own sake. So, what is the central fire around which the Sunday Assembly congregates? A shared commitment to releasing endorphins? Or to the vague admonition to \u201clive better, help often, and wonder more\u201d?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>

The dramatic failure of New Atheism to provide any vital culture or source of meaning is well-established; Sunday Assembly invites us to walk\u2014and \u201clive\u201d and \u201cwonder\u201d\u2014among its ruins.https:\/\/t.co\/ynOHPTnVG1<\/a><\/p>— First Things (@firstthingsmag) November 23, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>