Church without God: How secular congregations fill a need for some nonreligious Americans

  Shared testimonies, collective singing, silent meditation, and baptism rituals – these are all activities you might find at a Christian church service on a Sunday morning in the United States. But what would it look like if atheists were gathering to do these rituals instead?

  Today, almost 30% of adults in the United States say they have no religious affiliation, and only half attend worship services regularly. But not all forms of church are on the decline – including “secular congregations,” or what many call “atheist churches.”

From atheist churches to finding healing in the ‘sacred flower of cannabis,’ spiritual but not religious Americans are finding new ways of pursuing meaning

  According to a recent Pew Center report, American Christianity remains in a nearly three-decade decline. Responding as “none” or “unaffiliated” on religious surveys, people increasingly identify as humanists, atheists, agnostics, or simply spiritual. If current trends continue, by 2070, Christianity may no longer be the dominant expression of American religion.

  As a scholar who studies alternative spirituality and new religious movements in the United States, I believe the reality of America’s diverse religious and spiritual landscape is more complex than often presented.