I have been thinking about something for several days, and I want to press my idea forward here on Rational Skepticism. Being extremely busy with work and family, I find this site to be an oasis and my only real outlet for "activism" as an atheist. I hope this idea will enjoy your thoughtful consideration.

Imagine the following...

A rumor begins, just internet ricochets at first, then a more generally discussed topic, that atheists are planning a sort of "Go To Church Day". Word spreads in and among the churches themselves that a "sit-in" or "occupy" movement is taking place among atheists, and that they are "taking over the churches" or some such thing. Church people are informed of the date some weeks in the future when the "demonstration" will occur, and they begin to prepare themselves for a confrontation.

Soon the purpose of the action becomes more clear, something along the lines of...

1) We want to raise a certain degree of awareness among Christians that non-believers are your neighbors, that we live just down the road from you, and that when you take political actions that bring the authority of scripture into public life, you are affecting people around you who cannot bring themselves to accept that authority.

2) We want those who attend your churches but who may have doubts about the truth of scripture to know that others have doubts as well. You are not alone, and do not be afraid to explore your doubts. We did and are the happier for it.

3) We want you to meet us, to get to know us, that we are nice, decent people and good citizens; that if you choke in a resaurant we will be the first to administer the Heimlich maneuver, not thinking "well, he's better off if he dies because he will be in heaven" but instead trying to give you more quality years to enjoy with your loved ones.

When the fateful day arrives, small groups of atheists are in attendance in churches everywhere, nicely dressed and easily identifiable; men in black suits, black shirts and red ties, women in black blouses with red scarves; they are respectful, they greet others warmly, they do not disrupt the service, and they socialize afterward, making themselves available to answer questions about point of view if possible. Then they go home... and maybe do it again next year.

I anticipate some objections, like the adage about herding cats. This site after all is about, well... skepticism. But I would not characterize this idea as a call to unite in action so much as an opportunity to do something a little different, wherein we can do ONE thing with SOME degree of unified direction and purpose. I would love to see an idea like this begin right here among the people on this forum. Please picture it in your mind, let it simmer a bit, and share your thoughts.

Thanks.

pelfdaddy wrote:3) We want you to meet us, to get to know us, that we are nice, decent people and good citizens; that if you choke in a resaurant we will be the first to administer the Heimlich maneuver, not thinking "well, he's better off if he dies because he will be in heaven" but instead trying to give you more quality years to enjoy with your loved ones.

One question, do you think that religious folks don't care when someone dies because they'll be in heaven?

The last funeral I went to it was all religiotards who were balling, confused the balls off me it did.

I find a church full of religious people to be an unpleasant place to be, I don't think I could manage to go through all that and remain pleasant. I suppose the gist of it is, I'm not actually a nice person and so would likely not present a positive image of atheists.

Ideally, I will only ever set foot in a religious building in future as an interested tourist looking at the interesting architecture and whatnot.

trubble76 wrote:I suppose the gist of it is, I'm not actually a nice person and so would likely not present a positive image of atheists.

Yeah like me at my friends kids christening

Vicar: "Those of you with young children please keep an eye on them because there are things in the church would could hurt them"
Me: "Yeah, the vicar"

mattwilson wrote:

trubble76 wrote:I suppose the gist of it is, I'm not actually a nice person and so would likely not present a positive image of atheists.

Yeah like me at my friends kids christening

Vicar: "Those of you with young children please keep an eye on them because there are things in the church would could hurt them"
Me: "Yeah, the vicar"

Bwahahahaha!
I would have not been welcome back at that church if you had said that within earshot of me.

pelfdaddy wrote:
When the fateful day arrives, small groups of atheists are in attendance in churches everywhere, nicely dressed and easily identifiable; men in black suits, black shirts and red ties, women in black blouses with red scarves; they are respectful, they greet others warmly, they do not disrupt the service, and they socialize afterward, making themselves available to answer questions about point of view if possible. Then they go home... and maybe do it again next year.

Not so sure about the clothes, but I think something like the red letter A worn somewhere would work.

I think if you approached it exactly as you say above—i.e. act respectfully and greet people warmly—you would get the same back. I should know, I serve on a local SACRE (Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education) and we atheists (including a humanist rep, some Councillors and some teachers) are treated as members of the team.

I think it's a great idea, pelfdaddy. Seriously. I wouldn't do it myself because I'm extremely introverted and rarely go out to group meetings. But if I were so inclined I would happily do it.

I find in general if you are warm and open with people they will respond in kind. But if you go in on the attack...well of course it will put people's backs up.

Thanks very much. I detect good sense and sympathy in all these replies, and would like to keep the idea alive.

All that need happen is, spread the word, set a date, and let it happen by itself.

Christians do not evangelize in church--they do it by "getting out there". So what if we said, let's "get in there"?

Matt,

Yes, they care when someone dies; the point to make is that we care even more.

I already go to church every week, even serving in the church nursery occasionally and have been asked to teach children's sunday school. I've often wondered how they would react if I ever come out of the closet. I can hear it now . . . "but . . . but . . . but . . . you're so . . . . nice . . ." I just don't have the guts to come out.

Nameless,

I think there are many just like yourself who would take heart by a friendly demonstration of atheists attending on a predetermined Sunday.

Black and red eh?

Well...it's an idea, but not the main idea...

Thing is...we don't have to get a million people to vote in favor of the idea. We need only sperad the word. Let people know, and they will talk. Then more people find out. If a couple of million people hear about it, and half of them like the idea, and half of those decide to do it, and half of those follow through and don't have something else to do that day, that's a couple hundred thousand. And atheists in certain locals could arrange to meet in one large group at a large and significant local congregation to increase their numbers (for those who are a bit shy).

Besides...they might have snacks.

This sort of activism is probably more useful in America, the Middle East, and other hotbeds of public religiosity. If we did this in Northern Europe, I think people would just shrug: religion is mostly a broken force. In the UK, it's the thesits who are apologetic and embarrassed to harp on about their metaphysics in public. In Europe, it's often more productive to target and debunk the claims of specific groups and institutions - scientologists, Islamic apologists, Catholic clergy, etc.

I'm not sure a uniform or a badge is a good idea. Atheism is not a cult or a worldview; it's merely the refusal to give credence to the asserted reality of this imaginary God.

Then you are fortunate to be living in Europe. But before you overly generalize about your own country, just give it a little thought.

Matthew Shute wrote:I'm not sure a uniform or a badge is a good idea. Atheism is not a cult or a worldview; it's merely the refusal to give credence to the asserted reality of this imaginary God.

That's a good point. However I think pelfdaddy was looking for some way for members of the congregation to 'recognise' the atheists among them and go up to them and ask their questions? If this 'campaign' was advertised in some way (e.g. via Twitter or FB or whatever) and people said "We'll be the ones in your congregation wearing a red A (or whatever), come up and say hi" that might be an icebreaker.

Nora,

Yes, something like that! Hey, we're dealing with skeptics here, I know. We're all skeptics. But just... you know...picture it.

pelfdaddy wrote:Then you are fortunate to be living in Europe. But before you overly generalize about your own country, just give it a little thought.

Well, it's uncontroversial to say that public religiosity in Northern Europe is nothing like it is in America and other parts of the world. Of course there are still serious problems, and counter-religious activism is a good idea everywhere. I'm just not sure it would have the same impact over here, although I'm not actively against the idea.

Nora_Leonard wrote:That's a good point. However I think pelfdaddy was looking for some way for members of the congregation to 'recognise' the atheists among them and go up to them and ask their questions?

Yes, I see what you're saying with this. I just worry that, however pragmatic the reasons, it could be ammunition for those who like to say that atheism is a "fundamentalist religion" or a cult, which would be a shame.

Matthew,

You are right to be wary of that. I think however, that since we would be gathering everywhere instead of in one place would be a good indication that we are not monolithic. One should try to anticipate problems like that.