Sunday Assembly is a non-religious gathering co-founded by Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans in January 2013 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The gathering is mostly for non-religious people who want a similar communal experience to a religious

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, though religious people are also welcome. As of December 2019, assemblies are established in 48 locations around the world with the majority in Europe and the United States, and are run and funded by volunteers from their communities.

History

Stand-up comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans started the first Sunday Assembly in North London in January 2013 as they "both wanted to do something like church but without God". The first event, attended by over 300 people, was held in a deconsecrated church in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, but due to the limited size of the venue later meetings have been held in Conway Hall. Since then events have continued to be held, twice a month, with one attracting as many as 600 people. Sunday Assembly generated much press and interest with

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

discussing it on ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. In October 2013, Sunday Assembly started an

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campaign that raised £33,668 out of a £500,000 goal to fund building a digital platform to help grow the organisation. The formation of satellite congregations was promoted with a 40-day tour through the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

(Ireland), the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The platform is designed to help provide a resource for people wishing to set up their own assembly and to connect with each other. Sanderson Jones said that he does not "expect much objection from religious communities. They are happy for us to use their church model," but he suspected that there may be "more aggressive atheists who will have an issue with it." However, some Christians objected: William McCrea, the DUP Member of Parliament for South Antrim (Northern Ireland), called the assembly "highly inappropriate", because of its rejection of God and an afterlife. During the initial promotion tour in 2013, Kimberly Winston of the Religion News Service stated that some atheists felt that "getting money is their goal". Part of the New York City branch split off because they wanted to emphasise the atheist element more than the founders liked. Responding to questions about lack of diversity in the people to whom Sunday Assemblies appealed, Sanderson Jones said "I don't hinkthere's anything that's inherently elite about people getting together to sing songs and think about themselves and improve their community. But we can't wait to see people doing it in all manner of different places in all manner of different ways, that appeal to all manner of different people." Sunday Assembly has been the subject of widespread academic research, and was featured in the 'How We Gather' report from Harvard University researchers on how millennials are finding community and meaning. In 2018, the journal ''Secularism and Nonreligion'' published a six-month longitudinal study of Sunday Assembly participants, which showed a statistically significant improvement in participant's wellbeing.

Local assemblies

Following the initial events held in London, Sunday assemblies have been held in about ninety cities, both in the United Kingdom and in other countries around the world: including the

(

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, amongst others), the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Since 2018, Sunday Assembly has moved from a centralised model with satellite assemblies adhering to the central charter, to an association model where assemblies follow guidance outlining the principles of The Sunday Assembly and some rules which it is suggested are followed for at least some time, with variations based on geography and local community needs. Amy Boyle 2018 with slide

Activities

Attendees listen to talks by speakers such as

Sandi Toksvig Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She ha ...

, socialise, and sing songs by artists such as

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

and others. Some assemblies also run social clubs and community support events such as Live Better groups, where members assemble regularly to support each other in their life goals and challenges.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunday Assembly, The Atheist organizations Organizations established in 2013 Atheism in the United Kingdom Atheism in the United States Atheism in Australia Atheism in Ireland

History

Local assemblies

Activities

See also

References

External links