In an age where we see more people continuing to leave the church, it’s no surprise that “atheist churches” are on the rise.
Yes, that’s right. Christians aren’t the only ones going to church these days. While varying religious groups all over the world have always gathered to worship, what’s interesting is that more non-religious groups today are getting together to have testimony nights and services centered on external factors other than God.
As The Conversation reported, “secular congregations often mimic religious organizations by using the language structure of a ‘church,’ such as meeting on Sundays or hearing a member’s ‘testimony,’ or by adapting religious language or practices in other ways.”
Some of these atheist churches promote the use of drugs to gain some semblance of a spiritual experience, whereas others are concerned about ways to gain eternal life here on this earth or by sharing their belief that there is no God. The evidence that these churches have already influenced society can be seen just from the fact that a prominent university like Harvard chose to have an atheist become their chaplain. Of course this happened after the school turned away from its Christian roots.
So, it’s no surprise that atheist churches would begin to pop up all over the nation. The Conversation reported that these atheist churches still have messages and there are still times of affirmation for what they believe.
When churches start to move away from the truth of the gospel and preach their own version of truth, it’s no surprise that we see the secular start to invade or manipulate its own version of religious community. The apostasy that the church has allowed to creep in with drag queen nuns, creeds that have nothing to do with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and the acceptance of sin as normal not only diminishes Christ’s power, but it allows for the church to be mocked. In many ways, there’s little difference today between an atheist church and the churches that many Christians find themselves in.
In December 2023, Pew Research Center found that “22% of U.S. adults fall into the category of spiritual but not religious.” Whether we want to admit it, or not we all believe in something, even if you don’t practice some form of standard religious routine. All people worship something. While the atheist church may not believe there is a God, by meeting together, sharing their passions for why they believe there is no God, they have found their idol—hatred against God.
The atheist church is, in essence, a worship of man. As The Conversation reported, Sunday Assembly, the original atheist “mega-church,” practices “debaptisms” where people renounce their former faith. This is a blatant, blasphemous action against God to take the sign that He gave us to make a public declaration that we would follow Him and turn it against Him.
Psalm 40:4 says, “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” Let us remember that everything we could ever need is to be found right in the presence of the Lord. It is God and God alone who we can place our trust in. Our own efforts are nothing but boastful, and when we chase after other things, other gods, we will fall. It is only from keeping Christ as our firm foundation that we can and will find true, meaningful life.
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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.
