What is Kate Braestrup’s take?

False. I am a spiritual atheist. I go to All Souls Church because it is the only church that allows me to come as I am and form my own beliefs. Some of the church goers are Christian, some Buddhist, some Jewish, some agnostic, and yes, many of us are atheist as well. I do not believe in a personified deity or "God". I do, however, believe in more than the physical realm. I believe it is impossible for anyone to know "the one and only truth" and that we are all looking for our own individual ways to tap into divinity. I believe that we are all made up of the same spiritual energy that gives us sentience. Though some atheists believe in nothing more than the physical body, many of us still believe in spirituality in general. You do not have to believe in a personified god to believe in a greater force of energy that we are all a part of. I find it very narrow to view atheists as unable to be in touch with their own spirituality. We can meditate. Some believe in reincarnation though I am a skeptic. I follow the teachings of Jesus (the historical figure, not someone with magical powers) and own the Jefferson Bible at home. As an atheist I have a small library dedicated to spiritual research and practices. I have books on meditation and connecting with your higher self, teachings of Jesus, teachings of Buddha, The Law of Attraction, speculations on what happens after you die, quantum physics and its relationship to spirituality and religious textbooks about all the different world religions.

We come to church just as any Christian does. We just don't believe in a deity. We believe in love, making a difference in our community, sharing religious beliefs with one another and talking about spirituality. It's 100% the same community that religious churches gives you, but we don't use it to teach about "God" we use the time to teach each other about all beliefs and about love. Then it is up to us to form our own opinions. Atheists can most definitely "justify" their coming to church in a serious philosophical or religious sense. Philosophically we study philosophy and ethics. "If God does not exist, anything is permissible." is a false saying. If God does not exist, we must use love to guide our actions. Love and kindness will show us what is permissible and what is not from love. Would you say Christians only determine if an act is permissible based on God and not your own judgment of kindness and love? If God said to hurt a child would you say it is an ethical thing to do just because God claims it is permissible? I would hope not. Atheists determine right and wrong not because they rely on someone else to tell them, but by asking "Is this going to harm someone?" or "Am I doing this out of love and benevolence." I find it somewhat alarming if someone cannot determine whether hurting someone is right or wrong without being told.

Religion definitions: "a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices" "Religion, human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence." "Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements[1]-although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion." Atheists can still subscribe to a set of beliefs and practices. I meditate in the evenings and ponder what happens after I die. I study quantum physics and sentient energy. I consider love as sacred, spiritual, and worthy of especial reverence. I have my own morals and beliefs that I have developed through Unitarian Universalism. I read religious texts to educate myself and learn from the morals instilled in the stories of multiple loving religions. I believe there is more than this physical world, but I am not a theist. You don't have to believe in one god any more than you have to believe in 10 gods to be a spiritual person.