One Indianapolis woman longed for the kind of community she saw in religious groups, and she found it in the Center for Inquiry.
Meredith Jones needed something to do on Sundays.
Meredith, like more than a quarter of adults in Indiana, isn’t religious. Still, many businesses shut down on Sundays, a day typically recognized in America as a day of worship and reflection. Up until last year, you couldn’t even buy alcohol on Sundays in Indiana.
One University of Michigan study found that regularly attending religious services directly leads to decreased loneliness, and people who develop relationships within a congregation tend to receive more emotional support. According to Pew Research, 11 percent of people who go to church say they care most about having a faith-based community to receive comfort in tough times.
But if you’re like Meredith and don’t follow any religion, lacking the fellowship associated with it can make you feel quite alone.
While walking along the Indianapolis canal a decade ago, Meredith passed by the Center for Inquiry (CFI), a secular society that hosts events throughout the week to provide atheists with a community that mirrors that of faith-based groups.
Meredith was interested in the resource, so she started going to CFI’s Sunday morning events, where anyone can come in, get some coffee, and hang around to chat about whatever they want.
This was the perfect fill for her Sundays. Before CFI, it was hard for Meredith not to be jealous of the community available to people who regularly attend church. CFI provides an alternative for those who want that community without following a religion.
Reba Wooden, executive director of Indianapolis’s CFI branch, says the organization’s members often debate about a variety of topics, but CFI supports all perspectives. For example, members disagree on whether they should celebrate religious holidays. Wooden herself celebrates Christmas, though she recognizes it as more of a cultural, family-based event than a religious holiday.
Meredith believes society is gradually becoming more accepting of atheists and secular people, but she thinks there’s still work to be done.
Research confirms that society still has a bias against atheists: A Pew Research survey found that Americans perceived atheists as being more “cold and negative” than Jews, Catholics, and Evangelical Christians. And if Meredith ever decided to run for president, she might have a hard time winning, as more than half of Americans say they would be less likely to vote for an atheist.
Meredith, who doesn’t plan on running for president anytime soon, is just fine staying in Indianapolis. The CFI community makes her feel like she is a part of something bigger than herself.
