“Hardly anyone reads the Bible. If they did, the whole thing would be in trouble.” Interesting words. Doubly interesting considering they were delivered by Mike Aus, the Lutheran pastor of 20 years at the Texas based Theophilus church. Aus was speaking on MSNBC’s “Up with Chris Hayes” as (at the time) one of the newest members of the Clergy Project, a confidential online gathering group for priests, pastors, preachers and ministers who can no longer delude themselves, or their congregations. Started in 2011 the group has witnessed explosive growth and now boasts over 400 former clergymen who’ve discarded the childish belief in a magical, silent, invisible sky being and chosen a more adult, rational approach to life, the planet, and cosmology. Such a rapid exodus cannot be understated. It’s the equivalent of once hardened, unwaveringly loyal military officers fleeing the field and defecting. Here we have the religious analogues of uniformed captains, majors and coronels throwing off their colours because they’ve not only recognised the unsupportable fragility of their beliefs, but also the regressive nature of the war they’d been raging on society. An army cannot survive without its commissioned officers, and the fact that religion is losing theirs at such an alarming rate is a sign the whole rotten (ageing) structure is crumbling from within.
See Mike Aus Video here (Thanks Lady!)
Linda LaScola (co-founder of The Clergy Project) suggests this video as well. It’s a 15 minute clip from a member of Aus’ new congregation who has followed him from the Lutheran church to Mike’s next church to his current atheist church. It’s good. Enjoy.
thesuperstitiousnakedape.wordpress.com 
Oh yayifications! And so it begins! 😀
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DJ, play that music! We have people here who want… no NEED to dance!
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“Oh gimme the beat boys, and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock n roll and drift away…”
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These brave souls will of course be demonized by their remaining clergy counterparts through character assassinations and liturgical castigations from the pulpit but as you point out, as their number grow, so does the narrow mindset that they promulgated for centuries.
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I agree, Larry. It’s one-way traffic… Out.
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Sometimes am optimistic sometimes am not. The fear of death among other things means the religious will replace these few pastors with other thousands, what with places with names like Divinity College or what is that University where Dr. W.L Craig is a don?
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Craig is a dean at a Uni? I didn’t know that! Damn, the stupidity 😦 However, I’m optimistic, mate. Church pews are filled with the old, not the young. Yes, we’re a superstitious lot, so there’ll always be something tickling that urge, but I think modern cosmology is really filling that void for honest, rational, adult ‘seekers’
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I think he is just a lecturer not the dean and the university I think is called Biola [what a name for a university]. Maybe it is the epoch of reason started many years ago by now dead rationalists on whose shoulders we stand.
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I have read about the Clergy Project and listened to the same video. It really is encouraging.
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There’s a video? Cool! Know where i can find it?
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http://www.clergyproject.org/news/2012/03/26/msnbc—up-with-chris-hayes-interview-with-mike-aus/
I thought you were referring to this one.
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Ah, that’s the actual interview. Cool! I was working off an article written about it. Never dawned on me to look it up 😦 I’ve had this floating around for ages, only got to it this morning. Even better. At the time of the vid there were only 185 members. Now there’s over 400. Thanks!
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Just added the link… Thank you!
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🙂
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Sweet, great choice of photo! But do realize that every insurance company claims that people who switch save money (because only people who will save money switch). The more damning statistic is the average IQs of those who remain. Where once the “priesthood” was one of three “professions” (along with lawyers and doctors), it isn’t attracting bright young people anymore. So, while the priesthood may be leaking at the top, I am more hopeful for the bigger leaks at the bottom. I have heard more than my share of stipidity from the religious and it may finally devolve to the stupid leading the stupid and then slowly die away. We can only hope.
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Great analysis. They’re pretty much boxed into the “stupid” camp, especially evangelicals. This was going to be part of a larger post going into various church responses to the bleed. I was going to start on it straight away then my eye caught something more tantalising and off i went chasing butterflies again 🙂
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Now if only the analogous military personnel you allude to would behave in a similar fashion, in even greater numbers.
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400 in just 20-odd months Richard is pretty good going. More outspoken ones like Mike Aus’ would be great, but even the silent one’s are having a devastating affect/effect on their flocks. Aus’ church of 80 simply collapsed a month or so after he threw it all in. Little cracks like this are good.
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One small step at a time, right?
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I would prefer great leaps, but yes, one church at a time until critical mass is met.
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Critical Mass? Groan…tell me this was intentional? RFLMAO.
I am going to unashamedly steal this line from you, John. It will find its way into one of my irreverent musings….guaranteed!
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fire at will.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but don’t many of the members remain in their positions? Or is this the institution that helps former Church members re-enter society (i.e. finding them jobs, etc.)? I suppose it could do both, but I wonder how many – of the atheist priests – remain with the Church after they have joined this anonymous movement…
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Can’t give you an accurate number, R.L, but the website testimonials do allude to many members remaining silent, which might indeed mean they stay in their churches. I guess there is a financial consideration to be made. “Preacher, 30 years” doesn’t exactly ring well on a CV.
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That’s too bad. I mean, it’s great that there is an organization that they can lean on for support, but it’s kind of spineless if they’re continuing to preach.
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Agreed. I might send them an email tomorrow and ask. Watch this space.
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Will do!
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R.L, Here’s the updated information from the Clergy Project. Linda LaScola was kind enough to answer our question, but I’m afraid to say we both stepped in it a little with the ‘spineless’ comments. I’ve since apologised (for both of us) and Linda was gracious enough to give us a pass, but left a friendly warning not to jump to conclusions. Sounds fair.
Hello, John –
I’m responding to your question to the Clergy Project (TCP). I’m not a member, but I am a co-founder of TCP and often respond to press inquiries.
I went to your site and noticed the exchange in the comments section where you agree with “culpeper” that preachers who stay in the pulpit after they no longer believe are ‘sort of spineless.” This implies that you think Mike Aus was “spineless” until the moment he left to form his atheist church.
Frankly, this doesn’t sound like a friendly position. I hope you consider that pastors, like other people wanting to switch careers, have families and financial issues to consider.
I also suggest that you attempt to speak directly to Aus or other non-believing clergy before coming to a conclusion that they are spineless. It would be the rational thing to do.
Meanwhile, in terms of the specific information you requested, I can tell you that of January 31st 2013, TCP has 404 members, including 301 who are former clergy and 103 who are active clergy.
Regarding gender, TCP is 88% male and 12% female. TCP started in March of 2011 with 52 clergy, (38 former and 14 active).
Those are the only formal statistics we have right now. If you’re interested in knowing more about the plight of clergy who have lost their supernatural beliefs, I suggest you read the article Daniel Dennett and I wrote in 2010: “Preachers who are not Believers”http://www.epjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/EP08122150.pdf. There are also numerous links on the Clergy Project website that will lead you to articles and podcasts by or about non-believing clergy.
Please let me know if I can be of further help.
Best,
Linda LaScola
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Yes, spineless wasn’t an appropriate adjective. That was a reactive comment made with little consideration. I am also attempting to switch careers, so my attitude towards their plight should have resembled the thoughts of an equally cautious individual. Like them, my current career is not conducive with my values, so I am quite ashamed at being so judgmental. Please extend my apologies to her if you speak again.
Thank you for gathering this information. It’s interesting to see the rate in which TCP has grown since 2011. I had no idea how young the organization was. Also, I’m really glad to see Daniel Dennett is connected to this movement; he is my favorite contemporary philosopher.
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Consider it done.
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Funny thing about being dogmatic; remove one part and the whole house of theological cards collapses.
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You’re on the money there, Hansi. Dogma is a windowless cube. If it were more flexible and more accommodating to new ideas i’d be less harsh on it. If it actually sought to study the universe (inner and outer) and advance human knowledge i might even become a fan.
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The time has come to mock the heaven and hell out of humanity.
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Not a truer sentence has ever been uttered.
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People might like this 1 minute film. It’s part a series of people talking about their moral & /or their religous thinking. here, the speaker talks about being a priest for 40 years and has never believed in God.
I hope you can view this from outside the UK.
http://www.4thought.tv/themes/what-can-religion-learn-from-atheism/david-patterson?autoplay=true
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Cheers, Bill. David Patterson is my new hero!
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I love that you spelled Colonel as coronel. The brasilian in you is showing mate. Your conversion is almost complete 😛
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Eee Gawds, no! I’ll take the music and the dancing but leave the rest 🙂
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