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Atheists Find a Sunday-Morning Connection with other Nonbelievers

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Atheists Find a Sunday-Morning Connection with other Nonbelievers

April 17, 2013
By Kimberly Winston|Religion News Service
Read in The Washington Post

Houston – Sunday mornings at Houston Oasis may have the look and feel of a church, but there’s no cross, Bible, hymnal or stained glass depictions of Jesus. There’s also nary a trace of doctrine, dogma or theology.

But the 80 or so attendees at this new weekly gathering for nonbelievers come for many of the same reasons that others pack churches in this heavily Christian corner of the Bible Belt — a sense of community and an uplifting message that will help them tackle the challenges of the coming week, and, maybe, the rest of their lives.

“Just because you don’t believe in God does not mean you do not need to get together in community and draw strength from that,” said Mike Aus, a onetime Lutheran pastor who is now an atheist and founder of Houston Oasis.

“We are open to any message about life as long as no dogmatic claims are made.”

Still, inside the conference room in a nondescript office building on the city’s west side, it’s hard to ignore the structural similarities to a Sunday morning church service. There is live music played and performed by members that is intended to spur reflection as well as entertain; a collection is taken up in a passed wicker basket.

A banner taped to a window declared what might be called Houston Oasis’ creed. It pointedly says “we think,” not “we believe”:

“People are more important than beliefs.

Only human hands can solve human problems.

Reality is known through reason, not revelation.

Meaning comes from making a difference.

Labels are unimportant.

Everyone should be accepted wherever they are as long as they are accepting in turn.”

The day’s message, delivered on a recent Sunday by Ray Hill, a former Baptist pastor and a longtime activist for civil and gay rights, would not have been out of place in many churches. All human beings, he said, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation are of equal worth and deserving of respect.

“Humans go out of this world the same way that they come in,” Hill wrapped up, as the room erupted in applause.

Afterwards, attendees gather for coffee at the back of the room before moving on to lunch at a nearby restaurant. There are plans for a kind of summer vacation Bible school for kids — minus the Bible, of course — and a charitable blood drive.

But don’t call this an “atheist church,” Aus insisted. He and other founding members are aiming for something new — a community that looks to nurture the common human qualities that can unite people.

“Homo sapiens is a tribal species; we thrive in community,” he said. “There are elements of church life that serve human needs but transcend church life, like the need to gather, the need to be together. We can offer those in a secular way.”

That offer is getting a healthy number of takers — attendance averages 70 people, but has hit 100. Twice during a recent gathering, volunteers had to bring in additional chairs to accommodate latecomers, and some attendees reported driving over an hour to get there.

It’s a diverse crowd, ranging from high school to retirement age and including a number of African-Americans, Latinos and Asians. They came in casual attire, in tune with the jeans and black turtleneck Aus was wearing.

Houston Oasis is part of a growing trend. Atheists and other nonbelievers have long gathered for events with meaning and music, but in the last year, a number of nontheistic groups have initiated Sunday morning events that include elements of a standard church service.

The largest is London’s Sunday Assembly, which meets in a former church and has been turning away people due to lack of space since its launch in January. There are plans to establish Sunday Assemblies in New York and Melbourne, Australia. Calgary Secular Church meets in Calgary, Canada, and several humanist communities associated with large U.S. universities have regular Sunday morning events.

Chris Stedman, author of “Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious,” said the Harvard Humanist Community, where he is an assistant chaplain, has begun to incorporate more churchlike elements in its Sunday gatherings at the request of attendees, including reflections and inspirational readings.

“There is a lot to be gained by looking at the forms of religion and in the ways that people make meaning and assemble a community,” Stedman said. “As a movement, I think we will struggle to appeal to people who are leaving religion if we cannot offer them the structures that religion has offered them. People need to come together and talk about meaning and value.”

At Houston Oasis, members stress that any similarities to a church service are secondary, at best. If fact, it’s what second-timer Katherine Alspaugh likes least.

“What I like about it,” she said, “is to look around and see there are this many people who believe the way I believe and I am not alone.”

Read in The Washington Post

The Humanist Hour - The Clergy Project

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Humanist Hour – The Clergy Project

April 05, 2013
In this month’s podcast, Todd Stiefel’s co-host is Margaret Downey. Together they interview three representatives of the Clergy Project, acting Executive Director Catherine Dunphy, Jerry Dewitt and Teresa MacBain.

Listen as Catherine, Teresa and Jerry tell their very personal stories to Todd and Margaret, revealing the joys and hardships of making the transition from a religious believer preaching from behind the pulpit to a nonbelieving secular citizen making a new path for themselves.

Listen to interview

A Year After Losing Faith, Atheist Pastor Finds A New Calling

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

A Year After Losing Faith, Atheist Pastor Finds A New Calling

March 27, 2013
Religious News Service – by Kimberly Winston
Read on Religious News Service

This Easter, Teresa MacBain will mark an anniversary that’s uncommon for an ordained minister — her first year as an atheist.

Last March, MacBain, now 45, stood at a podium before hundreds of people in a Maryland hotel ballroom at the national convention of American Atheists and told them that, after a lifetime as a Christian and 15 years as a pulpit pastor, she had lost her faith.

Her coming out was national news, and she expected it would cost her her position as pastor of a United Methodist church, and she expected she might lose some friends and family members. In the last year, she has lost all those things.

But there have been gains, too, including a new career, the embrace of a new community that she had been taught to distrust and a newfound sense of confidence.

This week, on the day the old Teresa MacBain would have marked as Good Friday, she will return to the American Atheists convention, in Austin, Texas, to deliver a talk she describes as “a road map of the last 12 months.”

If there are any pastors there who find themselves perched on the edge of going public with their own loss of faith as she did, she will have some advice to give them.

“Go for it, but be prepared,” MacBain said from her home in Tallahassee, Fla. “They should be prepared for unexpected love and acceptance from the freethought community and they should be prepared for the worst from friends and family and people you would have never imagined.

“They need to have their mind ready ahead of time to look for the small pieces of joy and the small victories and hold on to them because that is what will get them through.”

There have been many such small joys and victories in the last year, MacBain said. Chief among them is the acceptance she found in the local freethought community — atheists, humanists and other nonbelievers — after her former church fired her and locked her out of the building.

“The freethought community just wrapped its arms around us,” she said. “Not just me, but my whole family.”

That includes her two adult sons and her husband, who is still a Christian and stood by MacBain through her change of heart. He has become a regular at weekly freethought meetings where she said his beliefs are respected.

There has been a broader acceptance, too. Not long after coming out, MacBain was hired by American Atheists as communications director — a job she loved, but had to give up when her husband couldn’t find a job near the group’s headquarters in New Jersey. MacBain returned to Tallahassee earlier this year and is now the executive director of the Humanists of Florida Association, which has about 500 members.

While she no longer believes in the divinity of Jesus, she has not lost faith in what she calls “the philosophy of Christ.” Leaving religion does not mean she has left morality, she said. She still adheres to the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule and other moral teachings common to many world religions.

And she has found a new way to use her pastoral skills in the phone calls and emails she receives from people who have also lost their faith but are afraid to openly acknowledge it. “They say, ‘I heard your story and I am in a rough spot and I don’t know what to do.’ I am really happy that I am able to help them. That is part of the reason I became a pastor.”

Catherine Dunphy is the executive director of The Clergy Project, a support network for pastors who are questioning or have lost their faith and may be looking to transition out of a religious environment. She called MacBain a successful example to the project’s 425 members.

“It is a big upheaval,” Dunphy said. “She had to make a space for herself. It is not just a change of career, it is a change of lifestyle and there is grieving that goes hand in hand with it.”

MacBain knows that all too well. For almost every gain, there has been a loss. The biggest, for her, has been the many friendships she lost, some decades long.

“I don’t think anybody is ever prepared for that,” she said. “It is something I still deal with. When you care for somebody, the caring doesn’t go away because they have removed themselves from your life. That does not happen. Those have been very hard things for me.”

Another low: the emails, messages and phone calls from people who wish her harm. Anonymous people have threatened her with violence and rape.

“I had to shut down one of my email accounts because I could not stand to open it anymore,” she said. “I was a mess.”

And when she lost her faith, she also lost the tools with which she managed her life.

“For me, religion was everything, my entire world,” she said. “All my friendships, connections, family, all the places I went to deal with difficulties, to do good works, to find resources to raise kids — everything was contained within that environment. I miss that social connectivity, that network.”

Now, she said, she is reassembling that sense of connectivity in the freethought community. She travels to speak to atheist, humanist and other nontheistic groups nationwide, sharing her story.

“In the past, everything I accomplished I felt was a gift from God,” she said. “But I have learned that those things are actually who I am and skills I have, not something that has been mystically appointed to me.”

And that, she said, is something she does not expect to lose.

Read on Religious News Service

In the Spirit: Group Helps Clergy Members Who are 'Closeted Atheists' Find a New Line of Work

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

In the Spirit: Group Helps Clergy Members Who are ‘Closeted Atheists’ Find a New Line of Work

March 17, 2013
Wisconsin State Journal – by Doug Erickson
Read in Wisconsin State Journal

Every Sunday, “Adam” says things to his parishioners he no longer believes. The evangelical pastor lost his faith a few years ago but is still in the pulpit, unable to devise an exit strategy from the profession he’s devoted his life to for 25 years.

“I’m trying to find the best way out that causes the least amount of harm,” he told me by phone. Adam is a pseudonym. I was put in touch with him through the Clergy Project, a national effort begun in 2011 to assist active clergy members who are closeted atheists. He spoke with the State Journal on condition that his name not be used because of the risk to his livelihood. Adam recently was awarded the Clergy Project’s first “Employee Transition Assistance Grant.” The $2,500, paid directly to an employment services agency, is helping Adam write a professional resume, practice interviewing skills, determine his transferable skills and network with prospective employers.

“He’s the whole reason we exist,” said Dan Barker of Madison, a co-founder of the Clergy Project and himself an evangelist-turned-atheist. Barker is co-president of the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. Unlike the foundation, the Clergy Project is not a proselytizing organization — it’s not out to create atheists, Barker said. “We’re a support group for those who’ve made the decision on their own,” he said. “We’re a landing place for those who’ve changed their views and need help in their transition.”

Ministry is so all-encompassing and all-consuming that a career change affects every aspect of one’s life, Barker said. "In almost any other job, if you change your philosophy or your religious beliefs, the rest of your life usually doesn’t change,” Barker said. “But clergy members who change their views are in a real risky position. They can lose their livelihood, their status, their friends, their family.”

Adam, a staff preacher at a large fundamentalist church in Tennessee, said his wife is aware that he is struggling with his faith, but even she doesn’t know the extent of his dilemma. “Some days, I get so frustrated with the situation, I think it would be best to just lay it all out there and deal with the fallout,” Adam said. “But I don’t think that would be fair to my family.”

Last week, the Clergy Project logged its 425th member, all carefully screened, Barker said. Of those, 316 are former clergy members, 109 are still active. “There are a lot of Pentecostals, some Catholics, a few rabbis. There’s really no pattern,” Barker said. “Some are from extremely fundamentalist denominations. Other denominations are so liberal the clergy members are able to stay on even as non-theists.” One female clergy member who is now an out atheist kept her job at a Christian church, Barker said. “Her denomination is uncomfortable with it, but her congregation loves her and doesn’t want her to leave.” Barker said true-believers should not view the Clergy Project as a threat. “We’ve even heard from some who appreciate it. They say, ‘This is a way to cull the phonies from our midst.’”

Adam said his transition from firebrand to atheist was relatively quick. He took a quiz in a Christian book in 2008 and realized he was ill-equipped to defend his creationist views. That sent him to the Internet where, for the first time, he read deeply about evolution. Within six months, he’d changed his views.
“I never, ever imagined this would happen to me,” he said. “I was so strong in my faith.”

He realizes some parishioners will be very upset with him when he comes clean. “I know there will be anger. The reason: I’m not who they think I am.”

Read in Wisconsin State Journal

Atheist Priests - 'Oh Me of Little Faith'

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Atheist Priests – ‘Oh Me of Little Faith’

March 03, 2013
The Ireland edition of ‘The Sunday Times’

Joe Armstrong talks to the priests who feel trapped in their ministries – because they dare not tell their flocks they have become atheists.

Read Full Article

The Pope is Not Alone: Other Clergy Want Out Too

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Pope is Not Alone: Other Clergy Want Out Too

February 26, 2013

“Adam,” a founding member of the Clergy Project, closeted atheist and an active Pastor, is the first recipient of the Employment Transition Assistance Grant.

The Stiefel Freethought Foundation’s generous donation of $100,000.00 is giving hope to Clergy Project members who feel trapped and unable to find secular employment. In his own words, Adam details the challenges he faces and the hope that this new program is giving him, as he works to leave the pulpit behind.

Adam’s Story

For the last four years, I have felt trapped and at times hopeless because I am a closeted atheist pastor. After much reflection, I no longer share the religious beliefs of the faith community I serve. I belong to a fundamentalist, evangelical, Bible-believing denomination, which means if anyone found out about my change in beliefs, I would lose my job immediately and plunge my family into financial ruin.

For the last two years, I have secretly sought a secular job but have been unable to find one. While I have good skills that are transferable, I, like many other job seekers, have been facing tough competition and challenging economic conditions. Not being able to be open with others about my situation and my desires has compounded the difficulty. I became so discouraged that I eventually stopped applying for jobs and wondered if I would ever be able to leave the faith that I no longer accepted. While I longed to leave hypocrisy and pretense behind, I felt I had to put the security and wellbeing of my loved ones above my own comfort and learn to live with the pain of professing a faith I no longer believed.

Fortunately, I became a member of The Clergy Project and, thanks to the generosity of the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, I am receiving valuable assistance in finding sustainable employment. Having the services of a professional outplacement service – including a highly trained transition coach, a resume writer, use of personality and skill assessment tools, access to numerous private training resources, and even handpicked placement opportunity leads – has made all the difference. I am once again hopeful.

I know I am not alone in my desire to leave the ministry, so I am very excited not only for the prospect of my own new life, but also for the prospects of my friends currently in ministry who want to lead a life centered on reason instead of faith. Securing secular employment will no doubt be the crucial first step in safely moving beyond faith to a much wider world of opportunity.

‘Adam’

For more information and to arrange a confidential identity-protected interview with Adam, please contact, Catherine Dunphy, acting Executive Director, the Clergy Project (202) 738-1764 or press@mail.clergyproject.org.

The Clergy Project is a private, invitation only, online peer support community for active and former clergy who do not have supernatural beliefs.

New $100,000 Employment Transition Program Launched to Help Atheist and Agnostic Clergy

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

New $100,000 Employment Transition Program Launched to Help Atheist and Agnostic Clergy

February 19, 2013

New $100,000 Employment Transition Program Launched to Help Atheist and Agnostic Clergy Find Secular Jobs Washington DC—The Clergy Project is proud to announce the addition of the Employment Transitional Assistance Grant, thanks to a generous grant from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation.

Todd Stiefel, founder and President of Stiefel Freethought Foundation said, "With this donation, my foundation hopes to help formerly-religious clergy find secular employment. These clergy men and women will no longer have to put the priority of feeding their family above their desire to stop preaching what they no longer believe.” Stiefel continued, “Additionally, this is an investment in the next great leaders of the freethought movement because of the incredible skills such as community building, support, and management that these clergy-persons bring with them.”

This project will provide crucial support to Clergy Project Members leaving active ministry. The program, offered by RiseSmart, will provide 6 months of assistance including, skills assessment, resume prep, and connection with a regional recruiter to assist them in finding employment.

During the first year, our goal is to approve a minimum of 15 Clergy Project members. The Clergy Project is working to ensure sustainability of the Transitional Assistance Grant, so that it will be available for members now and in the future.

Dan Barker, Chair of the Clergy Project board said, “I wish there had been a service like this when I left the ministry in the 1980s. I spent a long time floundering, searching for a way to make a meaningful living as a nonbeliever. Eventually, we all have to solve the problems of life on our own, but just knowing there are resources from sympathetic organizations can be immensely helpful.”

The program is scheduled to officially begin in March 2013.

For More Information Contact:
Catherine Dunphy, acting Executive Director, (202) 738-1764, press@mail.clergyproject.org

The Clergy Project is a private, invitation only, online peer support community for active and former clergy who do not have supernatural beliefs.

Organization Helps Former Clergy Find New Employment Outside of Faith

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Organization Helps Former Clergy Find New Employment Outside of Faith

February 14, 2013
Folks who have made church their vocation often have struggled when it comes to replacing their employer. Thanks to a grant from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, former clergy may now avail themselves of job training and placement services.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Todd Steifel and Clergy Project graduate Teresa MacBain to discuss how the project is working for those who no longer work for their former faith tradition.

Listen to interview

Announcing Employment Transitional Assistance Grant For Non-Believing Clergy

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Announcing Employment Transitional Assistance Grant For Non-Believing Clergy

February 12, 2013

The Clergy Project is proud to announce the addition of the Employment Transitional Assistance Grant, thanks to a generous grant from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation.

This project will provide crucial support to Clergy Project Members leaving active ministry. The program, offered by RiseSmart will provide 6 months of assistance
including, skills assessment, resume prep and connection with a recruiter in their area to help them to find sustainable employment.

Dan Barker, President of the Clergy Project board said, “I wish there had been a service like this when I left the ministry in the 1980s. I spent a long time floundering, searching for a way to make a meaningful living as a nonbeliever. Eventually, we all have to solve the problems of life on our own, but just knowing there are resources from sympathetic organizations can be immensely helpful.”

The program is scheduled to officially begin in March 2013.

Jerry DeWitt On Religion For Life With John Shuck

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Jerry DeWitt On Religion For Life With John Shuck

February 12, 2013

Do you know what your minister believes? You might not. Jerry DeWitt is the author of the upcoming, Hope After Faith: An Ex-Pastor’s Journey from Belief to Atheism. He is the executive director of Recovering From Religion, and “the first graduate” of The Clergy Project. His story has been written up in the New York Times and he speaks about his journey at a number of conferences such as Reason in the Rock 2012.

I caught up with Jerry on Religion For Life to discuss what it means to graduate from faith. We are pulling back the curtain. Join me for this candid conversation. It is part of my future of faith series.

Listen to interview