Many Secular “Churches,” Once Part of a Growing Movement, Are Struggling
By Hemant Mehta
July 22, 2019

It’s been a while since the Sunday Assembly has been in the news, and maybe that’s a good thing. The so-called “atheist church” — though they didn’t promote atheism — burst onto the scene several years ago offering an alternative for people who missed the rituals of churches but no longer believed in the supernatural. The motto of “Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More” spoke to them. They enjoyed singing songs that weren’t worship music. They loved the idea of a community bound by a passion for life, whatever that meant.

But an article in The Atlantic by Faith Hill suggests that the experiment hasn’t worked. At least not as well as its creators would like to admit.

Sunday Assembly has reported a significant loss in total attendees over the past few years — from about 5,000 monthly attendees in 2016 to about 3,500 in 2018. The number of chapters is down from 70 three years ago to about 40 this year.

That’s not entirely surprising. Just about any organization that grows rapidly and early is bound to see the rubber band snap back. Eventually, the ones with great leaders and room to grow will do just that. No one knows that better than evangelical Christians, who have become experts at “planting” churches with the awareness that many of them won’t succeed. But some will, and that’s the point.

(snip)

Religious people have a belief in God that (theoretically) overrides some of the other problems that eventually develop when humans try to work together. They have a shared culture. They seriously think going to church makes them better people — and that attendance is good for their families.

Not believing in God doesn’t offer that. You definitely can’t build that culture when we’re talking about a once-a-week gathering that doesn’t include separate programs for children.

So what does Sunday Assembly have to draw in new members? Community, sure, but you can find that in a lot of places if you’re willing to look. Music and singing? Sure, if that’s the sort of thing you like. A secular “sermon”? Sure, though it’s hard to find quality speakers every week.

Maybe one of the biggest downsides is that the Sunday Assembly is, by design, not a pro-atheism group. That means the entire organization is catering to the “Nones”… but not the people for whom godlessness matters.