Question 27

Have you, after becoming an atheist, had to or decided to go through any kind of religious ceremony and why?

• A couple of times, for weddings, funerals, etc. Not very pleasant. (Nicolas P. Demers #155)

• Been best man at a couple of church weddings and a pall-bearer at a funeral. Does that count? ( Erikc #2)

• When I was living in Taiwan I attended several ceremonies in Buddhist and Taoist temples. I also witnessed a Hindu prayer ritual in Malaysia, and attended a Catholic Mass in the Philippines. In November I saw the Pope conduct his Sunday service at St. Peter's Square. I find the traditions of the world's religions fascinating, though I am not in the least bit religious myself. (Chris Nelson #135)

• Yes, for several reasons. My cousin in law who is 19 is going to become a minister and was holding service for the first time (he is a liberal christian and metaphorical person). I went for a laugh and to make him feel better I guess. I also went to church with my significant other for a REAL good laugh. That's about all... (Justin Thomas (3D_Killer)#985

• I was a professional photographer for 10 years, and shot several hundred weddings. I usually turned my philosophical faculties off during the ceremony and just concentrated on setting up my next shot.

  Yes. I had my daughter baptized. I did it mainly to make my parents feel better and to get them to stop whining about it. Although the whole baptism thing is completely meaningless to me, in retrospect, I think it was a mistake. I won't do it again for any other children I have. (Paul J. Koeck, #360)

• I haven't been inside a church for 4 years. At one time, I did consider having my youngest child baptized in the Catholic church, but I changed my mind. My other two children were baptized before I became an atheist. I was going to have the youngest baptized so that none of the children felt left out as they got older. I couldn't go through with it because I realized that it was not my decision to make. If she choose's to believe in a god, she can have it done herself. (guesswho (Lady Lorelei) #1049)

• My wife and kids and I are members of the local Unitarian-Universalist Church. Atheists are, and atheism is, welcome. To my way of thinking, Unitarianism is, in a sense, the "purest" form of religion that evolved out of the Christian tradition. Personally, I do support the idea of a "religious community" (which others would simply call an institutionalized religious setting) as an additional influence of positive values for my children (in addition to the influence my wife and I).

  FYI - Unitarianism has traditions (as does any social institution), but it is not based on in any way on the idea of "religious doctrine." IMHO, it is the most appropriate church for any atheists who were raised in the Jewish or Christian traditions, but who still have any inclination to go to church. (Todd S. Greene #884)

• My grandfather died last memorial day, and naturally my fundy grandmother insisted on doing the whole nine yards with the funeral thing. I just didn't get it. The viewing was morbid, the behavior of some of the relatives was like a bad soap opera script (and in some cases, petty and outright disrespectful), and what comfort (if any) my grandmother got from the whole thing she could just have easily have gotten from phonecalls from her friends (which she got anyway). I suppose (except when it involves a close family member) it's none of my business, but I just don't see the point. (Beth Wise #859)

• We had a bad summer a few years ago, the father of one of my daughters good friends died accidentally, then another friend of hers died of leukemia, then another friend suicided. Three funerals in 3 months .. Good christians all, as a matter of fact the first two were in the same funeral home and the same church and 3 weeks apart. I get no comfort from the idea that it was gods will a beautiful 16 year old should die of a slow, painful disease, the day after her 16th birthday. I went to all, my own daughter was very ill with what turned out to be Lyme disease at the same time, and I was haunted with the idea that it might have been us at the center.. what would happen to her if I had had the same accident, what would I do if she had the same disease.. There is just the 2 of us, her father left when she was 5. The year before my grandmother had died at 93, her memorial service was at the Unitarian church, and was much better - a long full life celebrated and remembered. (Suzane Oliver #62)

• I left work a little early today to visit a friend who is sitting shiva for her mother who passed away on Sunday. This friend knows that I am an atheist, yet she asked me if I wanted to read the 23rd Psalm out loud. Fortunately, she wasn't offended when I said no, but I certainly was a bit offended that she even asked me. I know that she meant it as an honor to our friendship, but she didn't think this out very well.

  It gets even better. My friend and several members of her family are 'Christian Jews'. Her mother's minister offered to do a five minute service before dinner. The service lasted 30 minutes and had me nodding off and the children present yawning out loud. And, the minister was totally spooky. He always speaks in this trained drone that you usually just hear during sermons. He looked and sounded the way a movie maniac sounds when trying to convince everyone of how sane he is - slow and drawn out. Boring as hell. I pity his congregation, if this is the way he always sounds. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Fortunately, he'll be leaving about the time I'm arriving at my friend's place tomorrow. And, tomorrow is the last day of the shiva. (Michelle Malkin #1)