'Atheist Church' - Oxymoron

ox·y·mo·ron -1657, from Gk. oxymoron, noun use of neut. of oxymoros (adj.) "pointedly foolish," from oxys "sharp" + moros "stupid." A rhetorical device in which two seemingly contradictory words are used together for effect: “She is just a poor little rich girl.”

There are plenty of oxymorons floating around like 'a little pregnant', 'benevolent despot', 'controlled chaos', 'girly man'. Here is a site with a more comprehensive list, (http://www.oxymoronlist.com/). To me the most oxymoronic of them all is "Atheist Church". I understand that those coming down off of a religious high need some sort of interim place in which to de-convert or un-convert comfortably. Having an Atheist Church to attend, with people who can answer questions, provide that missing fellowship experience and fill the newly created void of those used to having something to do and some place to go every Sunday appeals to Atheist neophytes. However, to call an Atheist gathering place a "Church" is weird. A church is commonly known as a building that is used for "Christian religious services", the very place and thing (and dogma) that Atheists have successfully escaped. There is no need to establish an organization for Atheists that collects people and money like a traditional church does and call it an Atheist Church. Most Atheists are reticent to 'come out' publicly anyway, but I know many who get together in their homes, bringing food and watching outlandish debates like the recent Ham on Nye debate at the Creation Museum on TV, or who organize a Q&A with someone from the ACLU about local public school sanctioned proselytizing and progress of their lawsuit. Some meet in a Unitarian Universalist Church like we do in Jackson, MS because our members are spread out over three counties and we need a central location to 'get together'. (Unitarians are diverse and accepting of many beliefs and principles.) We call ourselves  "Central Mississippi Atheists Meetup Group". A little longish but descriptive. There are 2000 years too many of religious baggage connected to the word "church" to attach it to any Atheist group. Definitely an oxymoron.

I didn't watch the debate...

I didn’t watch the Ham-on-Nye debate. I spent my time cooking spaghetti sauce in my new crock pot. Besides, no one is going to change their mind over one debate no matter how persuasive or factual the presentation or how engaging the debaters. I understand, from reading the reviews, both sides felt their guy won. Depending on one's investment in belief or non-belief, their assessment of victory will always be skewed in favor of their side. There are many logical reasons to leave religion and its dogma behind, but there are also emotionally gripping reasons not to abandon "a way of life" that religious indoctrination has imprinted since childhood. And here is another facet to consider about humans changing their belief system which I had not considered…survival.

“Because beliefs are designed to enhance our ability to survive, they are biologically designed to be strongly resistant to change. To change beliefs, skeptics must address the brain’s “survival” issues of meanings and implications in addition to discussing their data.

Because a basic tenet of both skeptical thinking and scientific inquiry is that beliefs can be wrong, it is often confusing and irritating to scientists and skeptics that so many people’s beliefs do not change in the face of disconfirming evidence. How, we wonder, are people able to hold beliefs that contradict the data?”

- “Why Bad Beliefs Don’t Die” by Gregory W. Lester, Skeptical Inquirer magazine November/December 2000

This says it all for me. For many, religion is the tie that binds. Break that tie and you are faced with losing family, friends, status in community and more. I know a few who have lost their jobs and access to their children. I also know many more who choose to remain closeted out of fear. In a hyper-religious country like the US there is very little freedom if you aren't religious. Our laws guarantee "freedom of religion" but don't guarantee "freedom from religion".