Seeking Fellowship without Religion

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

More than 25% of Americans identify as having no religious affiliation and that number is on the rise according to Pew Research. While atheists –also called freethinkers, humanists or secularists –are defined by their lack of religious faith, many are still seeking community to ponder life’s existential questions. For those wanting the fellowship and soul searching found in churches, synagogues and mosques without the religion, there are groups like Atheist United which offers an adventure program bringing together atheists to revel in the awe and wonder of nature. We talk to atheists about how they seek community. Guests: Evan Clark, executive director, Atheists United David Diskin, president, California Freethought Day; co-founder, Sacramento chapter of Sunday Assembly Samantha McGuire, national field director, American Atheists, Inc. Arlene Rios, founder, Secular Latinos of San Gabriel Valley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for Key QBD Podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport. At SFO, you can shop,
0:06.7	dine, and unwind before your flight. Go ahead, treat yourself. Learn more about SFO restaurants and
0:12.7	shops at flysfo.com. Support for forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:23.1	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank,
0:29.6	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an
0:35.3	unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion.
0:43.3	The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th.
0:51.7	Tickets on sale now at Broadwaysf.com.
0:56.6	From KQED.
1:30.3	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal. According to one poll, 25% of Americans say they're not affiliated with a religious tradition. But of course, what people find in mosques and churches and synagogues is not only a sense of the divine. Churches are also communities built around a set of shared beliefs,
1:32.9	and they can provide an important form of fellowship completely outside any sense of God.
1:35.6	So today, we talk with atheists and other non-believers,
1:39.7	but how they find community and a set of people to share their ideas
1:43.7	and existential
1:45.0	angst with that's all coming up next after this news welcome forum I'm Madrigal. There's a story in my family. Maybe it's apocryphal.
2:07.6	But one day when I was a young kid, I asked my parents, who created the world? And my mom, though she was not really a traditionally religious person, gave me the party line from my Catholic school, which was God created the world.
2:20.8	And I considered that and turned to my dad and asked, Dad, who really created the world?
2:27.3	Though I wouldn't consider myself an atheist, some people are just skeptics from the jump, and I definitely was one of them.
2:33.7	The ranks of people who find
2:35.4	themselves outside a religious tradition is growing. In San Francisco, a poll found a full third
2:41.7	of people in the city do not identify with a religion, the second highest percentage in the country
2:46.6	after Portland, Oregon, of course. But religious groups are not just about God.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.