THOUGHTS on stealing Christian’s tactics and providing a sense of community
Part of the allure of organised religion is the sense of community it boasts, individuals gathering once a week to dialogue their lives, bible, deity ect. My question is should the atheist community also benefit from these tactics? Studies have shown that individuals (particularly young impressionable teens) feel a sense of belonging when part of a group… would it be wrong to take advantage of this like religious sects have? A common concern may be that individuals may attend to follow “the crowed” but if in the preparation of these gatherings a conscious effort to educate and encourage critical thinking was undertaken, would it be so wrong to steal the Christians dirty tactics?
Personally I thought most atheists would agree that weekly meetings with like-minded individuals sounded ideal but after briefly mentioning it to a fellow atheist friend I was deterred, what are your thoughts on this matter?
Tags: Christian, atheist, community, impressionable, meetings, stealing, tactics?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alice Browne on -
Whoa, hold on. How is having a weekly meeting "stealing Christian tactics"? Are book clubs "stealing Christian tactics"? How about sports teams? Knitting circles? Drama clubs?
It's just holding a meeting. Attempting to make it sound all edgy and subversive by "steal[ing] the Christians dirty tactics" is just going to unnecessarily demonize it, especially in a school setting.
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Permalink Reply by mcm on -
Try the local bar. Should be easy to find people there who don't want to go to church.
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Permalink Reply by Bob MacVay on -
Perhaps Gabriela you might be interested in looking into the Humanist organization.They are atheists but seem to be support a more social connection.
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Permalink Reply by Daulton Dickey on -
The success of religion hinges on community. Religion is a binding agent, so to speak, coercing disparate individuals into believing they are part of something bigger. Patriotism serves the same purpose. That we reject or dismiss arguments for ancient belief systems is the one thing we have in common--individually, we may have more than one thing in common; but collectively our rejection of certain belief systems binds us. I think creating social situations to encourage like-minded individuals to come together, to 'cement' this potential 'binding agent,' is, I think, a logical extension. The existence of this site, and of sites like it, is evidence, I think, of a yearning for broader social interactions.
I don't think you'd be 'stealing Christian tactics'; I think you'd be adopting the form of religion or politics for non-religious or apolitical means.
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Permalink Reply by Daulton Dickey on
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It just occurred to me: by my own definitions that last sentence is not true.
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