Can an atheist lead a Protestant church? A battle over religion in Canada.

[rug]

By Alan Freeman
September 29 at 8:00 AM

OTTAWA — The Rev. Gretta Vosper is a dynamic, activist minister with a loyal following at her Protestant congregation in suburban Toronto. She is also an outspoken atheist.

“We don’t talk about God,” Vosper said in an interview, describing services at her West Hill United Church, adding that it’s time the church gave up on “the idolatry of a theistic god.”

Vosper’s decision to reject God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and to turn her church into a haven for nonbelievers “looking for a community that will help them create meaningful lives without God” has become too much even for the liberal-minded United Church of Canada.

The United Church, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, has begun an extraordinary process that could end up stripping Vosper of her rights to continue as a minister.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/29/can-an-atheist-lead-a-protestant-church-a-battle-over-religion-in-canada/

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Unitarians embrace atheists.

And a fair number of Jews are culturally Jewish, not at all religious, some to the point of being atheists.

Atheism is the next hidden group that will go public in the foreseeable future.

[shrike]

2. No kidding, don't the Unitarians already do this?

I can kind of see the Canadian church's point, though. Maybe she can found a new movement in Canada.

And I don't mean to be snarky (and I've said this before), but isn't the point of being an atheist not having to go to church?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. "Isn't the point of being an atheist not having to go to church? "

One would think.

It seems to me that the social aspect of church going is at least as important as the religious part.

[shrike]

4. Well, a very nice Duer named AZ explained it to me.

He (I think he was he) told me, when I asked, that he, an atheist, attends (Unitarian) services because of the fellowship, the camaraderie, the sense of being part of something, and having a chance to do good works as part of a group. When he put it that way, it made sense. (I was actually trying to kid when I made that comment.) I've got to give the Unitarians one thing: I guess some of them incorporate show tunes instead of hymns as part of their services. That would be interesting.