Any atheists out there who are drawn to the aesthetic of church?

[Forion]

I was a Roman Catholic, but totally struggled with believing in God etc. I gave up going to church years ago, but I still love the Catholic Church, hymns, music, the buildings, prayers, incense etc. I wasn't interested in the social side of things so didn't get anything out of that.

I know some people will say that it's God trying to draw me in, but honestly, I can't believe in any of that even though I've tried I can't force myself and I don't even like other people let alone love them 😄

Anybody else experienced this?

My favourite Christmas carol

Absolutely - I love everything to do with the religious aesthetic and the sense of peace and calm that you get in many churches and other places of worship. Shame it comes with so much of the unbelievable, questionable and downright ludicrous (imo, obviously).

The hugging was the only part I didn't like. I used to try and hide behind a pillar, but people would seek you out like a heat seeking missile 😬

Tbh I'm a complete believer but I don't go regularly to a physical church because I'm not confirmed and I can't decide between denominations. I like different things about each of them. I also like that I can partake in Communion online without the awkwardness or waiting to be confirmed and joining a church when I can't decide which one. I also find clarity from periods alone, processing information - I don't like being pulled in different directions through other people's arguments and opinions. So online church is ideal for me at the moment. I like discussing on here though.

@CathyorClaire

That sounds perfect, @Forion !

I've never had the misfortune to encounter a huggy church. Only handshakes as the sign of peace, and they had enough potential for awkwardness! Hugging would be terrible.

My favourite carol is Angels We Have Heard On High. That long 'Gloria'... I love anything in Latin.

I can partake in Communion online without the awkwardness or waiting to be confirmed

That's one thing the Baptists had over the CofE. Nobody had to go through an official ritual to partake.

CofE school (complete with its very own chapel) were hardcore on the consequences of taking the wafer thin biscuit on an unofficial basis.

I'm not sure I'd be very good at being a Baptist, though...very 'full on' isn't it as a denomination?

I'm an atheist but like going round old churches. I enjoy the history and sense of a community you get from looking at inscriptions, thinking about lives lived by those who attended and reading the inscriptions.

full on and yet strangely dull at the same time

The first time I attended a CoE church with friends (teenage years) I declined going up for Communion on the grounds that I hadn't been to Confession (my old excuse when I couldn't be open about not believing, but felt it was hypocritical to join in). 'But you don't need to!' That led to a very interesting conversation about denominational differences after the service.

[quote Forion]@GreenWhiteViolet

We need an autistic church where it has all the lovely sensory elements and peace and quiet, but that only preaches that water is wet and the grass is green and that's all you have to believe in.

And NO hugging 😆[/quote]
I would come to this church!

I sometimes watch the livestreams from gloucester cathedral just to hear those perfect warm terribly english voices echoing around.

Of course. Beautiful buildings and rituals. It’s like a nice warm hug if you just try not to think while you are there.

@StillWeRise

I like the peace and rituals of being in church. I was raised culturally c of e and attended a church school and associated groups and clubs as a child. But I’ve long been dithering on the side of atheism and recently definitely tipped that way for good. However, the peace and quiet and the sense of thousands of years of ritual still calms me very much. I think it’s just part of the human psyche to find peace in the things you’ve always known whether or not you believe God is real.

And I like the preaching, I'm scared of fumbling up the ritual and offending people and I can find peace in lots of places.

So I sort of understand but am the opposite way round. It's mad. We all want church in some way or another. There is definitely something there.

@StillWeRise

full on and yet strangely dull at the same time

Absolutely right

Lost count of the number of sermons I endured where any faint hope of an end was scuppered by the dreaded words 'And my next point...'

Wonderful thread!
My dad went to monastery school and my grandparents besides an Abbey and were friends with the nuns, attending mass with them- he had a strange upbringing. He grew up to be agnostic and married a bolshy atheist from the other side of the sectarian divide so my sibling and I were brought up atheist. I always felt a loss for the world he grew up in, very drawn to the architecture, art and mysticism. But knowing how cruelly other relatives were treated by other people in the church broke the spell, also, historically and now, the wealth, the corruption, the misogyny, the abuse. I'm still very interested in ideas surrounding belief and the history, as well as loving so much of the art and am grateful it exists, despite the tarnished history. I find JK Huysman, the French decadent, very interesting on belief. He was a non believer who dabbled in the occult but had a fascination for Catholicism, the architecture particularly I think, and towards the end of his life he became a Catholic.

Interesting how many people cite peacefulness and uplifting hymns. For me it’s the trouble of the Church that holds my interest. I’ve found all the disagreement and evolution of the CoE over the past twenty years really gripping. I feel invested, as a citizen and as a human being.

I guess that’s one reason why I couldn’t be a practising Christian now - I’m only attracted to struggle. Latin Mass - bring it on. Hymns adapted to be indistinguishable from our Eurovision songs - those make me want to smash something.

I’d make a truly excellent hermit, though. Always have to talk myself out of applying whenever such opportunities are publicised.

I guess that’s one reason why I couldn’t be a practising Christian now - I’m only attracted to struggle. Latin Mass - bring it on

I think there is a lot of struggle and suffering featured in Roman Catholicism. Eek! That bit rather terrifies me - soft as I am!

This brought back a memory of my first Nativity play at school. We all had to bring toys in to donate to charity. I bought in a teddy bear I liked. They were put in a pile and as part of the Nativity we had to offer them as gifts to Jesus. Well, I was last in line to pick up a toy and the only one left was a toy gun! Well, I full on wept! Terrified of the teacher (we got smacked in those days) but refused to give the toy gun to Jesus. I think my mother had to have words with them!

@glimpsing

And I like the preaching, I'm scared of fumbling up the ritual and offending people and I can find peace in lots of places.

So I sort of understand but am the opposite way round. It's mad. We all want church in some way or another. There is definitely something there.

I hope you know, @glimpsing, that a good church would never judge you if you fumble? Churches are desperate to get their attendance up and the older congregation are dying off, so if you were marked out as 'new' many would see it as a good thing, and offer help. I've been to church several times on my own when I was getting back into it, sat at the back, and some lovely people made sure I had a hymn book and order of service to follow.

Thanks, @EatSleepRantRepeat, very kind of you to post that, reassuring too.

I got chucked out of a CofE church because my toddler was running around a bit during the Family Service it was bothering the elderly people so out we went. I left in tears and never got over it.

I then went back to my Catholic roots and went to the RC church and they were much friendlier and more tolerant and accepting. The Catholics seem more laid back and there was a much better atmosphere.

I'm an atheist but some of the churches are absolutely beautiful. The workmanship that went into them is amazing but I still don't believe in God.

I got chucked out of a CofE church because my toddler was running around a bit during the Family Service  it was bothering the elderly people so out we went. I left in tears and never got over it.

I think I would have been in tears too.

I then went back to my Catholic roots and went to the RC church and they were much friendlier and more tolerant and accepting. The Catholics seem more laid back and there was a much better atmosphere.

I think it can vary though. My mum was raised Catholic but married C of E and then lapsed. Some things she told me about the church were lovely and some more horrific. The priest who did my Grandad's funeral was very good, something else, very piercing eyes, service was beautiful.

I think the thing is with Catholics is that, traditionally, they've been poorer and situated in poorer neighbourhoods. I don't think they have that middle class uptightness and prissiness that the CofE can suffer from. That's not to say they're great of course, what with the sex abuse stuff etc. I had a parish priest who was done for fiddling the books