Are you allowed to go to mass even if you don’t believe in God?
In the July/August issue of America, Emma Camp wrote about attending Mass regularly, even though on good days she believed in God only “30 percent of the time.” She went on to describe how attending allowed her to escape “age-segregated bubbles” and helped her “feel accountable to something other than my own conscience.” The article elicited a variety of reactions from readers.
What a joy to stumble upon your article. You are not alone. I, too, am a religious atheist/agnostic. I have a similar story, but my return to religion came about through religious history classes, not literature classes, in college. For me, belief in “God” is pretty irrelevant. I believe in the message. Whatever God is, he is useful to me as an idea of love and acceptance of ourselves and each other. I used to think the Gnostics were a bit silly, but over time I understand how wise they were. As Jesus said in the TV series “The Chosen,” “God does not reveal himself all at once.” Accepting that, along with knowing that I don’t have to believe in a wizard in the sky to still believe, has helped me immensely. I’m not a spiritual person, but religious? Yes, as it turns out, I am. – Lauren Horner
Well said, Ms. Camp. Let’s revive the term “churchgoer” in your spirit, but with a positive meaning. “Churchgoer” has fallen into disuse, but it once referred to someone who sat insincerely in the pews to preserve their respectability. Well, someone can sincerely attend a service even if they are not clear or convinced about what is happening. Churchgoers (including me) know that something more valuable happens in a service than sleeping in. – Joseph S. Harrington
Dear Emma, you have indeed hit on something there. Now that the family has grown large and is widely dispersed, my wife and I are among the older parishioners who now experience wonderful and meaningful community activities in the parish that move the parish forward, not only for ourselves but for the busy young people and young families who now attend Mass with at least the same common sense that you have – that we still have. Think also of how much you contribute and add to the lives of those around you in the Church by your mere presence, by bringing joy, by socializing with the elders and quietly being a role model for the young teenagers – who are forced to attend Mass by their mothers and fathers, but this is wise. – Dennis Arko
This sentence from Emma Camp stunned me: “Within hours of my first Sunday Mass, I had been added to two different group chats, had agreed to attend an upcoming happy hour, and had exchanged numbers with a young woman who would soon become one of my best friends.” Seriously, you find community that quickly in a Catholic church? In the Catholic churches I’ve attended over the years, people head for the parking lot as quickly as possible. I’ve never been to a Catholic church that has a coffee hour in the parish hall after Mass—at any of their Masses. On the other hand, when I attend Eastern Orthodox churches (my parents converted from Catholicism when I was 10), there’s almost always a coffee hour or meet-and-greet. So which church you attend can definitely make a difference.— Cathy Dempsey
The sentence that most caught my eye was this: “The idea that I belonged to a Christian community… began with a course in medieval mysticism, where I was exposed to works by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas and—my favorite—Julian of Norwich’s stirring, beautiful Revelations of Divine Love.” The Catholic Church today simply ignores so many of our rich intellectual and spiritual roots. You just don’t hear about them. And smart, gifted, curious young people like you are looking for the powerful synaptic connections that such readings can make to explain themselves, the world, and their place in it. Read on. Merton, de Chardin, Day, Keating—all accessible in a modern way to impart knowledge of God’s love and blessings to young people. Well done!— James Snyder
I have been a Christian for a long time and I understand why atheists want to be part of a church. Most, if not all, of the Christians I have known from all denominations have been wonderful, generous and loving people. More importantly, their goodness comes from a direct connection with Jesus, the Son of God. I strongly encourage those who enjoy the benefits of faith to focus entirely on encountering Jesus. Without this living connection, churches and people grow cold and die. – Samuel Goldberg
