Bear it in mind: Abigail Maxwell on the psychology of nontheist worship
‘As a believer, and as an atheist, I have experienced the gathered Meeting for Worship.’
I joined the Religious Society of Friends in 2002. I came via the Anglican church, where I had happily recited the creed. In 2009, I was losing my belief in the triune god, in a long, melancholy withdrawal – my belief had been part of my identity from childhood. My partner felt that Quakers should believe in God, and found nontheist membership questionable. I agreed, until a nontheist Friend said to me, ‘The question is not why an atheist would join a religious society, but why we stay’. My heart went out to her, and I ceased my objection.
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