Nonreligious church opens in Triangle

The Sunday Assembly, a godless congregation that celebrates life, will hold its first meeting in Chapel Hill on Sunday at the Hargraves Community Center.

Sunday Assembly was founded in London in January 2013 by two comedians, Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones, and has since expanded to more than 60 Assemblies worldwide.

The Sunday Assembly has been dubbed the “atheist church” by various media sources, but the organization accepts people regardless of their beliefs.

“Some people might call us an atheist church, but that’s not what we are,” said Richard Fortuna, president of the Sunday Assembly location in Charlotte, N.C.. “We have Buddhists, we have people who are spiritual but not religious and we do have Christians as well.”

Atheism is on the rise in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center, which reported that 2.4 percent of American adults identified as atheists in 2012, compared to 1.6 percent in 2007.

While it only launched in September, the Sunday Assembly in Charlotte has had four services. This month marks its fifth.

Fortuna said the church has between 40 and 60 people attend each service.

After hearing about the Sunday Assembly on the news, Sara Howe and Nichelle Reed decided to organize their own congregation in Chapel Hill.

“As a nonreligious individual, I’ve often missed the sense of community that church provides,” Howe said. “I wanted one here to help build that community and safe space for those of us who do not feel comfortable in other churches for whatever reason.”

Howe said that there would be a new speaker and a host at each of their monthly meetings.

“Each meeting will have a different theme,” she said. “Our theme at the launch will be ‘Beginnings,’ and so our speaker will talk about an important beginning in his life.”

She said she’s expecting anywhere from 70 to 100 people for the first Assembly.

Cyndel Brunell, a student at UNC who attends the Summit Church in Durham, said she doesn’t understand the idea of a religion without a god.

“I kind of feel, just with my experience in church, that it’s missing a huge element that there’s not a savior,” she said. “I can understand the self-help point of view, but having a hope and savior that is above and beyond has so much more.”

Fortuna said reactions to the Sunday Assembly in Charlotte have been mostly positive, with most complaints being about the congregation not holding services enough.

“There’s been more of a negative reaction from the atheist population than the religious population,” he said.

There has been interest from people in both Winston-Salem and Asheville in starting their own Sunday Assemblies.

“Charlotte was the first location in the state,” Howe said. “We will be the second, and Asheville and Winston-Salem are currently in the process of planning.”

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