Is the Church Only for the Faithful?

In the past month we have been rejoicing over the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It has been hailed by many as the most important restoration and reconstruction projects of this century. Many have said it’s a symbol of the country of France itself, whether you are a believer or someone who rejects the faith that is worshipped inside the cathedral.

I guess Notre Dame means many things to many people. It brought unity to all who were determined to see it rebuilt; yet, I would have to argue that before it is anything, it is a place of worship, built in all its beauty to capture the presence of God in the lives of all those who bow their heads in prayer inside.

This idea of what a symbol Notre Dame is for the people in the world as well as the people of faith is tied to a question raised in a recent letter to the ethicist of the NY Times Magazine: Can I Go to Church When I Don’t Believe?

The person asking this question has issues with Christianity, its history, its members, the meaning of Christ, and the existence of God. Yet, he wants to go to church because he loves to sing hymns “as lustily as anyone else”, he loves the sense of community in a congregation, and kneeling in church gives him, strangely enough, the feeling of humility and gratitude. He will even go as far as saying the Creed, which he doesn’t believe.

To some this seems strange and even far-fetched. Why would someone do this when they don’t believe? The more I thought about it, the more I became open to this person’s unorthodox practice of attending church without believing anything.

To me, on any given day, any believer can feel this way in church, whether they are sleeping through a sermon or reciting the liturgy by rote without thinking of its meaning. How many times have you said the Lord’s Prayer without thinking about any of the phrases’ meaning? Let’s face it, we all have Sundays like this. On the other hand, perhaps this unbeliever sitting next to us who is singing his heart out, praying the prayers, and practicing the liturgy could inspire us to participate in a deeper way.

I have always said that when you are feeling low, wondering what you believe, you can look around and find help by just seeing someone else singing the hymns, listening intently to the sermon, and undoubtedly more focused on worship.

Going in another direction, perhaps the point of being in church for this person is to be influenced by the wonder of the building with all its music, its art, its rituals, and its sacred texts. We all know that faith is almost magical but more so, it is mysterious and something you cannot create. It is something that happens to you. No matter how hard we try, we cannot create faith. The Bible looks at it as a gift, often given through the Holy Spirit. An alive faith is always a struggling faith, a doubting faith, a fragile faith, a mysterious faith. It is not certainty.

So, to answer the question, Can I Go to Church When I Don’t Believe? is simple. It’s YES. The church is not a place for perfect people with the perfect faith or with all the answers. It is a place for you and me who struggle every day to connect to our creator and live moments into meaning.

MEH