Is it OK to go to church if you don't believe in God?

[LindorDoubleChoc]

There's so many things I love about Church. I love the buildings, the rituals, the music, the choirs, the organ, the routine, the idea of the discipline of doing something on Sunday aside from blobbing around.

Recently I went to a high Anglican church service for the first time in my life (only been to weddings and funerals before) and found it fascinating. But I still don't believe in God and Jesus and the Bible and never will.

Is it wrong to become a regular Church goer in these circs? Is it hypocritical?

The church down the lane from me is an ancient Knights Templar church set in a beautiful churchyard with fabulous hills all around. My OH is buried under the yew tree there. He was not a believer and neither am eye, but he felt a real affinity with this wonderful building which has absorbed the hopes/fears/loves/losses of generations. It also has the most wonderful acoustic and he was a good amateur violinist and had played there.

I too love the building and the community that surrounds it. I help out with the singing there sometimes as that is where my talent lies.

I would describe myself as an agnostic - in other words I do not know whether a god exists; more so, I do not think that anyone else knows either, or indeed can know, or ever know. But that does not stop me recognising the good things (and also the appalling things) that have been associated with belief. I hope to pick the good things.

Neither am eye!!!! Sorry.

Yes, it's fine. Our local church is a bog standard C of E but they have incense and beautiful stained glass windows. It's very grounding IMO.

Where is this please, sounds great and would love to visit it?

Yes the community and emotional history has enormous pull too. It’s one of the reasons I changed denominations.

Well, this is news to me!

Out of curiosity, what differing opinions might those be?

You see, I have gone to church for ceremonial things, and I just feel so out of place. I don't sing, because the songs are all religious, and I don't say the prayers, because what's the point? I obviously don't take communion, because that is just odd. I just don't believe. So, although I love old churches as architectural and historical wonders, and have visited many both here and abroad, I just can't join in anything remotely connected to the God bit.

Thank you for your honesty @KnittedCardi.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, because it doesn't exist. It is a man-made construct of the imagination, conjured up to give existence meaning.

Isn’t there a saying that in the Anglican Church, people believe in a maximum of one God…?

@electricmoccasins I don't get it...

@Vincitveritas ie that a lot of people in the Anglican Church don't believe in any at all.

I see, well I won't be able to look at any congregation in the same way again after reading this, that's for sure.

Yes, of course, if it's a decent, welcoming Church they know they're there for the community, and sadly these days they're needed more than ever.

I also love a response I heard in the old 1990s adaptation of the Stand, where one of the characters says they don't believe in God. The other character laughs and says, "Doesn't matter. He believes in You".

Im not sure it's as common as people think. I attended for a long time as an agnostic but didn't want to go at all as an atheist.

Gosh if someone said that to me I'd be quietly furious. What a put-down.

My DS was a cathedral chorister for around fur years, and still sings there once a week with a less formal choir. When he went for audition, age 10, the choir-master asked if he had any questions. "Yes... do I have to believe in God?" He was reassured that he'd be fine so long as he didn't heckle during the sermons.

(I'm more of a Christian than I am anything else, but am mostly somewhere along the agnostic/syncretist line.)

I am not Christian but of a different religion and I quite like the idea of church, my experiences have been good and in the U.K. I am not near my own religious community but I would be honest and not pretend to be a Christian and would also make a voluntary contribution for running of it as a thank you for welcoming an outsider. Of course if it became a problem I would understand.

I’m a (non-practicing) Muslim and like to sit in churches because they are more welcoming and non-judgmental spaces in than mosques (in the UK). I love that you can leave requests for prayers - makes me feel a sense of connection with others. I find them to be peaceful spaces to sit and be silent or listen to evesong in cathedrals.

When people say they don't believe in God I always wonder how they would define the God they don't believe in.

What a strange question. That's like asking someone to describe your imaginary friend to you.

If it’s any comfort most people in the know think this mass downgrading is very political indeed.

Don't be silly. There isn't an 'in the know' for ofsted and the idea that politicians want a decline in perceived school standards is laughable. Lots of outstanding schools have been downgraded recently because they haven't been inspected for 15 years. Many of them will have genuinely declined, others will simply be out of touch with how to jump through Ofsted hoops.

Absolutely.

Isn’t there a saying that in the Anglican Church, people believe in a maximum of one God…?

I don't think they are that strict.

I really like the CofE. I find it facinating that churches ranging from homophobic fundamentalists, hippy gender-theory theists and every type of agnostic are all in the same social club.

High Anglicans definitely won't care that you don't believe in God, OP.

Of course if it became a problem I would understand.

I’m Catholic and it definitely wouldn’t be a problem in my church! The service itself is religious, but the chatting afterwards is generally about how life is going. There have been times when I just didn’t believe in God at all but still found the sense of community very reassuring.