Each year, the number of Americans leaving organized religion continues to grow. According to a 2024 Pew Research study, more than one in four Americans now identify as “nonreligious,” meaning they do not belong to any religion. But at the same time, many are seeking the community that religion often provides.
The CBS Mornings series, “The State of Spirituality with Lisa Ling”, explores unique paths to faith, spirituality and religion in the United States The final installment of the series focuses on an often overlooked but essential part of this conversation: nonbelievers.
At first glance, a Sunday church service looks like a typical contemporary church service, but there is a clear difference. At Sunday Assembly, there is no religion. Rather, it is a secular gathering where most of the congregation is atheist.
Ryan Trout, Amy Boyle and Sam Renderos are all leaders of Sunday Assembly Los Angeles.
Trout said that for him, Sunday assembly means community.
“Sunday Assembly is like family to me,” Boyle added.
“I was always having conversations with other atheist friends…we never had a community and when I found Sunday Assembly, I found that community,” Renderos said.
According to Pew Research, nearly 30% of American adults no longer have any religious affiliation. This means that they often identify as atheists or agnostics. An atheist is generally described as someone who does not believe in God, and an agnostic is often described as someone who is not sure there is a God.
““I reject most, if not all, supernatural ideas,” Renderos says. “But what I crave is community and human connection, which is what matters most to me.”
Renderos said the community forms at the Sunday Assembly. It is an unconventional gathering, but it uses a very conventional structure, similar to that of a church.
““We have a Ted Talk style of conference,” Boyle explained. “We sing and tell a personal story. It may sound familiar because it has a lot of the same elements as a church, but we don’t do religion.”
How Sunday Assembly Began
Sunday Assembly was founded in 2013 by two comedians in the UK and now has around 60 chapters worldwide, including in other US cities such as Atlanta, Chapel Hill and Nashville.
Boyle explained that even though they don’t practice religion, there is a science behind why it feels good to get together with others and sing together.
“We release a lot of endorphins,” she said. “It helps bring people together…the ingredients of a church service are powerful.”
But members also acknowledge that their church-like structure may not be for everyone. According to a 2023 study published in the Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry Journal (SHERM), one in three Americans report suffering some form of religious trauma.
“Religion has hurt a lot of people,” Boyle said.
Trout added: “We have people who find it triggering, the actual assembly that happens once a month, but still come to our game nights and book clubs… and they’re no less part of the community than the people who come to the Sunday assembly every month.”
Although most members are atheists, all are welcome at the Sunday assembly, even those of faith, which includes Trout. He said he identifies as an “agnostic Episcopalian.”
Raised Baptist in Kentucky, Trout left the religion, he says, because of its exclusion of women and the LGBTQ+ community.
““I like the organized side of it, a lot of people run away from organized religion, but the organized side of it was a selling point for me,” he explained.
As Trout began to identify as an agnostic, he was also called to participate in the ancient rituals of the Episcopal Church. Today, he is trying to introduce similar rituals to the Sunday Assembly.
“We’re working on a book of secular traditions and rituals that we can pass on to people because I think it’s important. It’s historical,” he said. “You feel like you’re part of something bigger than yourself.”
What spirituality brings
Varun Soni, dean of religious life at the University of Southern California, said spirituality helps give people meaning and that can be found in religion and secular spaces.
““What does my life mean? What matters to me? Why does it matter to me? These are questions we all ask ourselves, whether we are religious or not,” he explained. “These are spiritual questions.”
Soni said that atheists and humanists in the United States are often religiously literate and have done their research.
“Atheists, humanists, agnostics, I know many of them have deeply spiritual lives,” he said. “And in fact, they’re driven by the idea that as human beings, we can do great work in the world.”
This idea is part of the Sunday Assembly motto: “Live better, help often and question more.”
Sunday Assembly members said they did not need religion to tell them to do or be good.
““We have empathy. We have a moral compass,” Boyle said. “But when it comes to where morality comes from … it comes from ourselves and our relationships with each other.”
Renderos added: “This is the only life we have, so we should celebrate it together for all the time we have.”
Lisa Ling
