Rise of the Secular Church

So what do former believers do with all that extra time on their hands once they leave religion and no longer attend churches, synagogues, or mosques?  The answer for some of us has been to form secular alternatives to religious communities.   Shortly after I publicly came out as a non-believer in March 2012, former parishioners started to approach me saying they too had been struggling with their faith for a long time.  It turned out that many of us were in the same boat.  We could no longer swallow the theological and metaphysical claims of religion, but there were aspects of church life we still wanted in our lives:  a sense of belonging and community, participating in meaningful service projects, and networking with others who share our values.  We started wondering what it would look like to form a thoroughly secular community that could provide the best of what religion had to offer, without any reference whatsoever to concepts like theology or spirituality. At the end of September 2012 we launched Houston Oasis, which we describe as a “compassionate community, grounded in reason, and celebrating the human experience.” We’ve been meeting every week since.

Our weekly gathering really looks nothing like a church service.  We have no ceremonies, rituals, or liturgies.  We also have no congregational singing.  Instead, each meeting features live performances from some of the best artists in the Texas music scene.  The main presentation for the week is less like a sermon and more like a TED talk.   Our speakers have presented a wide range of topics from the sciences, arts, and humanities.  After the main presentation, the community generally has some Q&A time with the speaker and at the end of the meeting, 30-40 people will typically gather at a local restaurant to continue the conversation.    Life at Houston Oasis is not just a once-a-week experience. We also meet regularly for social events and service projects. Recently, young adult leaders in the community put together programming for teens, and we hope that this effort will grow into a large-scale secular youth group.