Understanding Atheism: Inside the Sunday Assembly Community

[00:00:00]-There is no God!

[00:00:02]That's something I usually only exclaim when I'm out of ice cream or there's not a movie I can watch on Netflix.

[00:00:10]But Atheism is a very important belief system in this country.

[00:00:15]And today we're gonna meet one from Los Angeles.

[00:00:18]Her name's Sarah, and she actually started something called the Sunday Assembly, where a bunch of atheists all get together with their families on Sunday mornings, and there's singing and food and community.

[00:00:32]Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

[00:00:34]Kind of like a church for atheists.

[00:00:36]So let's go see what this is all about, and we're gonna have a little faith in people who don't believe in God.

[00:00:55]Hello!

[00:00:56]-Hello! -Nice to meet you.

[00:00:58]-Hi, Zach, I'm Sarah Barker with Sunday Assembly.

[00:01:01]-Awesome! Nice to meet you.

[00:01:03]So, are you ready to talk all about atheism?

[00:01:06]-Absolutely. -All right.

[00:01:08]Let's go thank science for this beautiful day.

[00:01:11]-Let's do it. -Wait, there's got to be an easier way to do this.

[00:01:14]Is this cool? Does this look cool on camera?

[00:01:17]Hold on.

[00:01:21]Bye!

[00:01:32]We just met like three minutes ago.

[00:01:35]-Yes. [ Chuckles ] -Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

[00:01:39]-Sure. I teach at Pasadena City College.

[00:01:42]-What do you teach? -I teach TV, radio, and film production. -Awesome!

[00:01:46]-Ah! -I was a major of that.

[00:01:49]-Were you? -You're an atheist.

[00:01:51]-Yes, I am. -And that's why we're talking.

[00:01:53]What is an atheist?

[00:01:55]-I think most of the people that I've talked to who identify as being an atheist would say kind of, like, what I feel about it, you know, which is, "I need evidence in the existence of some kind of supernatural deity, an interventionist deity."

[00:02:08]And then for some folks, they're a lot more hard-lined.

[00:02:11]They absolutely don't believe in the possibility.

[00:02:13]And then others are a little bit softer on the other side of it.

[00:02:17]I think it's kind of a squishy subject.

[00:02:18]-It's squishy. -It's squishy.

[00:02:20]-Atheists are kind of defined by what they don't believe.

[00:02:25]Are there any things that all atheists do believe?

[00:02:29]-You know, I don't think that all atheists -- You know, if you are an atheist, X, Y, and Z.

[00:02:33]Fill in the blank. You know, "All atheists think this," or, "All atheists feel this." I think there's a spectrum.

[00:02:38]For instance, I think if you were to ask a lot of people that founded Sunday Assembly, they would say, "I do believe in celebrating life 'cause we're here and that's awesome."

[00:02:46]They would say, "It's important to be of service to others.

[00:02:49]It's a part of our human experience that gives us joy."

[00:02:53]-I think celebrating life is wonderful.

[00:02:56]But how do you not get depressed when you think about the rotting-in-the-ground part?

[00:03:01]-I think it makes me appreciate life more because I don't think I'm gonna be going anywhere after I die, and so this is the shot that I have. This is it.

[00:03:08]And how can I leave the world a better place?

[00:03:10]I think life is miraculous. I think evolution is miraculous.

[00:03:13]And I look at it as a great adventure.

[00:03:15]You know, who knows what's gonna happen after this life?

[00:03:17]-What do you think atheism has allowed you to experience in life that religion couldn't?

[00:03:24]-Whatever kind of life I'm gonna have, it's really up to me to create that life, and I can do that through actions and words and deeds.

[00:03:32]So in a way, I think it's very freeing.

[00:03:34]There's a freedom there. -You choose your own path, and, you know, a lot of people that are Christian or from other religions say, "Well, if God's not watching, what's to keep atheists from, you know, thieving and murdering and doing all sorts of bad stuff?"

[00:03:52]-We know when we do something that's hurtful to ourselves and others.

[00:03:56]You know, it's experiential. You feel it.

[00:03:59]It really kind of demeans our human evolution to suppose that we can't be kind and generous and not go out and kill a bunch of people just because we don't have a God concept.

[00:04:11]-That's a good segue into where we are now.

[00:04:14]We're at the Sunday Assembly.

[00:04:24]What is the Sunday Assembly?

[00:04:26]'Cause when I heard about it, I thought it sounded like an atheist church.

[00:04:30]-Sunday Assembly was founded by Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans.

[00:04:35]They're actually stand-up comedians in London.

[00:04:38]We all kind of got together and we looked at the model and we said, "Hey, here's somebody who's trying to keep the focus on, you know, celebrating life and celebrating the one life that we have 'cause this is it."

[00:04:49]'Cause we believe that after -- I believe that when I'm dead, I'm dead.

[00:04:52]I'm gonna be in the ground, and my body's gonna deteriorate.

[00:04:54]It wasn't this negative bashing of religion.

[00:04:56]It was, "Let's celebrate life." -Wait, wait.

[00:04:58]Can you tell me what happens at the Sunday Assembly, what I can expect when we go in there?

[00:05:04]-There are aspects of it that are a lot like church.

[00:05:06]But there's singing. There's sing-a-longs.

[00:05:08][music] But you got to keep your head up, oh [music] [music] And let your hair down, yeah [music] [music] But you got to keep your head up, whoa [music] [music] And you can let your hair down, yeah [music] [music] I know it's hard... [music] -We also have an emcee.

[00:05:22]Today we have Amy Boyle, who's one of our organizers, will be emceeing it.

[00:05:25]There's an icebreaker. -We do icebreakers because we think that it would be very sad to sit in a room for an hour next to strangers with like values and ignore them.

[00:05:37]You got to pair up with someone you don't already know.

[00:05:39]You're gonna give that person three compliments.

[00:05:42]-I'm originally from Buffalo.

[00:05:44]Just moved to Los Angeles.

[00:05:47]Now I host a show on YouTube that's being filmed right now.

[00:05:51]Well, first of all, you're a very snappy dresser.

[00:05:53]You're a confident person.

[00:05:56]I wish that I had your mustache is what I'm getting at.

[00:05:59]I'm enamored already, even though we just met.

[00:06:02]-Zach, I can tell about you that you are a very social person, that you're a person who can put themself out there with absolute confidence and be on a social platform, which is something that I really envy.

[00:06:13]-You want to hug it out, man?

[00:06:15]-I absolutely want to hug it out.

[00:06:17]-There's also science.

[00:06:19]You know, there's also speakers that come and talk about science.

[00:06:22]-You have people come and talk about science in the same way that a preacher would educate people about Scripture.

[00:06:30]-Yeah. -Next up is our keynote speaker.

[00:06:32]He's an author of several books, including one coming out called "The Secular Life."

[00:06:37]Please join me in welcoming Phil Zuckerman.

[00:06:39][ Cheers and applause ] -Look, if you're secular, this is it.

[00:06:43]This time, this world, this life.

[00:06:47]We could talk about other pillars of secular society -- other values, like reason, rationalism, making decisions based on evidence.

[00:06:56]There is one area where religious culture tends to do a bit better, and that is strong communal bonds.

[00:07:04]And I have one answer to that, and it's got two words -- Sunday Assembly. Whoo!

[00:07:12][ Applause ] Thank you.

[00:07:14]-It's completely volunteer-run.

[00:07:15]We all just show up. We pitch in.

[00:07:17]We've been turning out pretty big numbers.

[00:07:19]So there obviously is a real interest and need here, but in terms of what it is, I think we're still trying to figure that out.

[00:07:26]-The question for me is, "Okay, if God's not watching, why are we still getting up so early on Sundays," right?

[00:07:34]Can't we have this on Tuesday afternoon?

[00:07:37]-Yeah, and that's a really great question.

[00:07:38]-And why can't I come in my pajamas?

[00:07:41]-Well, you could. You could come in your pajamas.

[00:07:42]-Oh, I could have? I just did not get the memo.

[00:07:45]-Yeah, we should have put that in the e-blast.

[00:07:47]-Now it's time for everyone's favorite.

[00:07:50]We have some attractive volunteers in the back with colorful boxes.

[00:07:56]This is the other part that makes Sunday Assembly possible -- the collection.

[00:08:00]-Wait, I've got more cash. Here's $2.

[00:08:06]It's just like church.

[00:08:09]Is there a danger of something like the Sunday Assembly becoming a religion in itself?

[00:08:17]-I think there could potentially be a danger there because, you know, you've got people who are coming here who -- Maybe they're just now coming into what they identify as atheism.

[00:08:26]And then you also have people who come here that are really hard-lined atheist.

[00:08:31]How do you find an experience here that's pleasing to all ends of that spectrum?

[00:08:35]'Cause you can't please everybody.

[00:08:37]You know, I think we kind of have some growing pains still.

[00:08:40]We're still trying to kind of work it out.

[00:08:41]What's it look like?

[00:08:43]-If you're not doing anything for lunch and you haven't filled up on pastries, we will be heading over to the Cat & Fiddle on Sunset, just west of Cahuenga.

[00:08:50]They're expecting a big group of us.

[00:08:51]It's a lot of fun.

[00:08:53]So if you've got a little time, that would be excellent.

[00:08:55]-So Sarah invited me to the Cat & Fiddle after Sunday Assembly 'cause apparently it's where all the secularists hang out together and just talk about science and assembly.

[00:09:07]So far, it seems like Sunday Assembly is just like church but without God.

[00:09:12]So let's go drink in the afternoon because no one's watching.

[00:09:17]Hey! -Hello! [ Chuckles ] You made it! You made it. -How's it going?

[00:09:24]-[ Chuckles ] -What do you normally do here?

[00:09:27]-Eat and drink.

[00:09:28]-Is this the cool table?

[00:09:30]-This is the cool table.

[00:09:32]-You are at the cool table.

[00:09:35]-Have you all been atheists for many years?

[00:09:39]-Only about 53. -53.

[00:09:41]And how old are you right now? -53.

[00:09:44]-Sunday Assembly is not an atheist organization.

[00:09:47]It's a secular organization. At least my understanding.

[00:09:50]And we want people to feel comfortable there.

[00:09:53]-I looked around at Christianity, looked around at all the other things, and I thought, "Personally, I just thought that atheism seemed the most logical to me."

[00:10:02]-What made you guys decide on the Cat & Fiddle for your post... -The founder of Sunday Assembly from London -- I had e-mailed him and said, "I'd love to get together with you for a beer."

[00:10:13]And we came here to the Cat & Fiddle, and that was the beginning of Sunday Assembly Los Angeles.

[00:10:17]And so we have come here every single Sunday after the Assembly.

[00:10:22]-This is almost what the equivalent of, like, a holy place would be. [ Laughter ] -This is like the pilgrimage to Mecca.

[00:10:30]-That's right. -Everybody here -- Our largest crowd here at the Cat & Fiddle is here today.

[00:10:34]-I'm gonna head out, but thank you so much for sharing your story with me.

[00:10:38]And everybody's been so wonderful and welcoming.

[00:10:42]I really appreciate it. -Can I give you a hug?

[00:10:45]-Hugs... So, I've had a really lovely day with a bunch of humanists and atheists and secularists, whatever the difference is.

[00:10:57]What I've learned is that whether you're religious or believe in God or not, we're all trying to figure out this crazy life.

[00:11:04]And atheists are no different just trying to find meaning and trying to provide service and help to others in need.

[00:11:14]And that's universal, whether you believe in God or not.

[00:11:17]So I would like to say to all my atheist and secularist friends, "No one bless you, but you're awesome just the same."