Good Agnostics Go To Church - Top Ten Reasons Why
“Our Father Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name….” Creeds, costumes, smells and bells. While I don’t believe in any of the creeds nor think that any of the costumes and smells have applicable meaning to Christians today… I still think it is a good thing for Agnostics to go to church. Why? Well here are my Top Ten Reasons why Agnostics should go to church…
#10. You would just sleep in on Sunday anyway, so why not.
#9. You can enjoy learning about the latest on-the-edge Christian perspectives…(I go to a very liberal Episcopal church that likes to shake people up with out-of-the-box theologians, but if you want to learn about a conservative point of view there is probably a conservative church right around the corner.)
#8. The food… You never get donuts for breakfast except on Sundays!
#7. The church is probably on the way to something. (For me it is close to the farmers market… and I like to shop there.)
#6. Networking… You can meet so many people there! If you have your own business or if you are in sales church is a must do! ( I meet so many people that just want a trust worthy website developer, and that I am!)
#5 You will inevitably grow stronger in your agnosticism by evaluating their sermons and creeds. But if you do convert, then tell us agnostics how that happened… I know I would be curious.
#4 As an agnostic we essentially are claiming “We Don’t Know” about the existence of God and other things that lack empirical evidence. Therefore,to maintain integrity it is imperative to consistently explore both sides with an open mind.
#3 The music is incredible! It is like going to a concert every Sunday, and this is good for my “SOUL”! (I choose the Episcopal church which has a large choir and sings classical music. It is so heavenly!)
#2 You will hear about current events and social justice issues, not to mention you will now have a group to join if you support the cause.
#1 Community… unfortunately I have not found anything that replaces the community aspect of church. People really do care for you.
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Kevin on 23 Oct 2007 at 7:44 pm #
I really liked this post. Thanks!
Derek on 11 Dec 2007 at 4:50 pm #
#11, building on #4: Maintaining personal integrity while keeping a respectful relationship with your Christian spouse.
Elise on 12 Mar 2009 at 7:15 pm #
This was both informative and enlightening. I am a Catholic and I genuinely liked your #4 response. It reflects your honesty, which is both admirable and refreshing! However, I would like to ask a question that may seem pedestrian to you, and if so, I do apologize. Regarding response #3, you refer to the music as “heavenly.” As an agnostic, how would you define “heavenly?” Respectfully….E
blb on 06 Apr 2009 at 6:03 pm #
Heavenly… hmm…. well I intentionally used TWO words in #3… “soul” and “heavenly”… It was an attempt at being funny… do to the associations that those two words have within a Christian perspective. However… heavenly can also be used to describe many different things.. in this case.. the music does make you think of something you would hear as you are standing at the pearly gates… waiting for you stamp of approval…
Matthew on 22 May 2009 at 10:39 am #
Great post thanks. I think community is extremely important, and we need to be gathering together to have conversations about the nature of life and existence, not matter the viewpoint.
John Roth on 10 Jun 2009 at 3:07 pm #
I question whether or not most of the members of the church would accept me on an equal basis if they knew I was not a Christian, that I was an agnostic.
I have not found a community as one can find in the christian church.
Atheists and agnostics have many helpful thoughts; but I feel little warmth, joy, and community that one can experience in the church.
Where can we atheists and agnostics rear our children and be active, contributing members of a friendly group such as found in many churches?
Thanks.
Greg on 30 Jun 2009 at 5:23 pm #
Great, why limit yourself to the christian church! The jewish temples would also be a great place to make business contacts!
Valerie on 30 Aug 2009 at 11:14 pm #
Nice write up…usually I never reply to these thing but this time I will,Thanks for the great info.
Harold on 20 Nov 2009 at 12:36 pm #
I consider myself a church going agnostic as well. I too go to an Episcopal Church although Episcopal Churches here in the south tend to be conservative in all areas. I agree that as an agnostic you cannot write off the idea of God completely. As you said, you don’t know. But you missed the two best reasons in my opinion: (1) Although radical atheists like to point to the Inquisition and sectarian strife and claim Christians are both superstitious and evil, you cannot go wrong with the “Golden Rule” and modern liberal Christian ethics, and (2) It is like active meditation for an hour. The second might not be true for all. I was raised in the Episcopal Church so I find the ritual very comforting and soothing. When I attended the Methodist Church, I felt unmoored and unsettled. Here in the south Methodists as a group tend to take their religion more seriously than Episcopalians so I never felt completely comfortable. Good post. Thanks.
John S on 29 Dec 2009 at 3:11 am #
Excellent post.
–Reiterating John Roth’s question:
“Where can we atheists and agnostics rear our children and be active, contributing members of a friendly group such as found in many churches?”
Don’t seem to be any options, other than attending a church, and I don’t really want my kids being unduly influenced there.
But, I do feel the lack of community.
Ellen L on 29 Jan 2010 at 4:48 pm #
How about adding, you can do more good in the world as part of a group than you can individually. I know my church raises a great deal of money and we do a great deal of community work as a team. I might not know how to direct my individual efforts, but with the rest of my fellow church goers, we get direction.
Dawn B on 20 Jul 2010 at 9:22 pm #
My lapsed Catholic husband of 30 years just informed me he wants to go back to the Catholic church. This is the second marriage for each of us (both divorced), and we met and married in the Unitarian Church, which we have attended off and on ever since. I come from a Southern Baptist (father) and Episcopal (mother) background. He says as we grow older we will need a sense of community that he doesn’t feel at the Unitarian church. He actually doesn’t believe in the virgin birth or the resurrection of the body, and says a lot of Catholics don’t.
I don’t think he can receive communion as a divorced and remarried man in the Catholic church, but he says that’s nonsense. I am hoping he will compromise on a liberal Episcopal church, which as someone said is hard to find in the South where we live!
Christine on 03 Aug 2010 at 8:37 am #
Dawn B. At my Episcopal church in Idaho, any baptized individual may partake of communion. That should be the case in your community, conservative church or not. There have been a number of Episcopal communities that have rejected current changes within the American church, they often refer to themselves as Anglican. Of course, just a visit will inform you if this is the place you are comfortable.
Please, input. I was brought up in the South, but unchurched. My mom believed that as long as we went to church on Easter Sunday (where she could show off her wonderful sewing skills), that took care of things. i joined the Episcopal church at 29, when I married my former husband. I am now 59.
I love the Episcopal church, but have stayed away for several years. Mostly, it is because I have studied and pondered, and do not accept the belief of Christ as savior. I describe myself as an agnostic, but I believe much is to be gained from church affiliation. I miss the church, for reasons others have stated here. I have considered Judaism (I don’t think it is right for uncertain Christians to use that faith as a fall back), and Unitarianism (yawn). Sorry, Unis. Oh, yes, I am of irish descent, looked at my local Druid site. Nope.
Can one be a part of the Episcopal communion, and deny the role of Christ? Thanks so much.