How many people work in jobs they hate or do not really appreciate. Imagine a vegetarian working at McDonalds. Life is full of contradictions. Just imagine that even the pope doesn't believe in god/s. He is just the CEO of an entity whose core business is selling dreams.

I sing in a choir which is secular okay, but at Christmas and Easter we give concerts and sing Christmas and Easter hymns....some of these concerts are in church, Eveyone in my choir knows I am an atheist, but they never question why I am singing in church with them, it is just lovely music with words that may be praising god to the others, but mean nothing to me. I still like singing them and would never think I was conflicted....but I have never had a religion so churches are just buildings to me, in your case they will bring memories of your former religion. Try to view them as I do and just say to yourself this is just another building like any other, and it was built and designed by men not a divinity. As you now know there are no spirits or god, the church you practise in should hold no fear, the memories can’t harm you can they?

As a musician in a place called church hill I can relate. I miss being in a band and performing a lot of times but Ill never take up any of the invites to play in a church. If I could bring myself to feign belief I could probably make a killing in the financial offerings taken up for my singing around here but Id rather be me. Doesnt pay great but I can sleep at night.

My situation isnt quite as specialized and isolatef of course, I could find a couple secular places to play even if its just open mic at a bar. But still ita hard to get away from religious music around here.

not really. i was raised a secular jew and although i am an atheist i still self-identify as a jew; my guy still believes in a god, though i don't think he knows what kind of a god he believes in. i think his belief is kind of vague, maybe just a word; i think he just wants to think he will meet his parents and his family dog again when he dies. that's a pretty fantasy, but it doesn't really affect our daily lives. however, we're in the midst of the high holy days and he feels bad having missed rosh hashana services because he's in the hospital right now. (it's called methodist hospital.) if he had been able to go, i'd have gone with him. i actually enjoy it and don't feel threatened by it. i don't pray (obviously) and i don't feel obligated to go to synagogue just for the hell of it (funny expression, but language doesn't really serve atheists well) but a couple times a year, to hear the shofar blown and wish people happy new year and read the quite-interesting quotations, mostly about human interaction, in the back of the prayer book, no, i don't mind. i enjoy it. my mind is free, and as i say, i do not feel threatened.

g

I purposefully avoid religious settings and tourist attractions.

I think it is entirely possible and desirable to maintain connection with your culture through the church, although you do not believe everything the church teaches.

I recently attended a Greek Orthodox fund raiser and was delighted with the dancing and I greatly enjoyed the food and beer. Also I spoke with some of the members and I was favorably impressed.

I never go back to my Protestant Church, but that is different. I don’t need to because I am surrounded by my ethnic Cracker culture outside the church setting.

Not in your shoes so easy to have an opinion , but I don't think I can do it . I understand your desire and the reason . I just can't . Will eat me alive to have to see all them church a?!$& people and even if I have better control now of my temper than 20 yrs ago , still , eventually afraid will start slapping people .
All that been said , I do eat the S!$& and I go to great extra mile to pretend that I understand or ok w gods and devils when a patient or their family are believers and often ( f my life !) ask their health care provider to " pray " w them and for them . When someone is sick and under stress , not the time for me to shut them down . So if I am asked , I say " sure ". But that the only exception and tolerance I can go for . I don't know how u do it ! ?
I hope u keep dancing and clear your mind of everything else .

I occasionally visit a church because I like the grand old buildings and I enjoy the atmosphere of meditative quiet that’s inside. I don’t feel particularly guilty or anything, it’s just something I enjoy.

I studied Ukrainian for a few years back home. It’s quite a large community in Canada. It seems I’m at churches frequently for one thing or another... weddings, baptisms. I see churches as buildings. Some of them are quite beautiful. It does not effect how I feel about what they believe nor can anything they say effect my own. If it’s something that’s culturally important to you and a good fit mentally and physically... do it.

Only in terms of taking a client to their church if that is their desire. I don’t participate. I just sit and read my book.

I would not demean myself by being a hypocrite, i will not live a lie for the convenience of others, I would participate and if questioned about non participation in prayers etc, ask that people respect my atheist stance as I respect theirs within the circumstance. If they do not, they simply prove themselves to be liars and hypocritical, but my conscience would be clear.

I go through religious rituals the same way I go through the Pledge - I just tolerate it.

Hey, I love folk dancing too! Its the 1st type of dancing I ever really did ! And Ukrainian dancing is fabulous, especially the Hopak. I love cultural events - from my own Indian culture or from other cultures. I have no problem being part of religious events. It's just part of culture. We can't alienate ourselves and become deracinated. Keep dancing!

What came to my mind first...back in the Baptist Church where I came from there would for sure...be no dancing!!! That was a sin! Lol. I can see where practicing in the Church might not be much of a problem, but adding a religious element seems hard to dismiss! This would be instructing your body to behave with some specific Spiritual intend! Many religions do include dance, but training my body to respond according to certain religious aspects, would be difficult to separate out! At least it would take a lot of discipline to tell your body one thing and then your ‘beliefs,’ another! And, yet to be in the group and dancing would be so great! Could you dance with that group, keeping the thought in mind, that when something opens up else where, you could exit? Because practiceing together, is necessary to keep the dancing sharp! Just don’t instruct your body to behave against your beliefs! That could create problems down the road! Good luck.

For the last 44 years, I have worked as a church music director and organist. As a person with a masters degree in music, and a strong desire to support myself, it is purely a musical gig to me.It's been really tough to hide my non-belief. I feel like a stranger in my place of employment, and somewhat like a fraud (even though I know it is the belief itself which is the fraud).

I would just view the religious aspect of it as a show, a musical or some type of entertainment. I would not mock them or be disrespectful or feel pressured to "believe". Just observe. There may even be some bit of non-religious knowledge you can pick up on. I find myself learning odd things in the strangest places sometimes. You know who you are and what you believe. Enjoy the part of the event that gives you pleasure - the dancing.

You’re between a rock and a hard place. Love of dance verses distaste for the Christian religion and having it shoved in your face. Since there doesn’t seem to be an alternative for dance (unless you just want to dance with your grandpa), you can either quit or go and try to ignore the religious part.

I hope it works out for you.

I have had nothing similar or even close but I understand. First of all, doing Ukrainian Folk dance is just great - wonderful and has to be. We took our kids to the German American Social Club and they learned the folk dances also schuhplatterling - wonderful too. I am long over feelng anything at all about religions or god - talk or being in a religious place of worship. I just sit respectfully during this Stuff and I feel kind towards the God - people , because I feel sorry for them if the truth is known for their delusions that Someone is really Directing Traffic here on Earth. I m so grateful that I finally got free of the religion delusions that plague most of humanity that it isn't a joke. But I would never be rude or say anything negative to any one who still suffers from religion beliefs. In the end, it doesn't matter so , just be kind and keep your own council. I wish we had some church group doing Ukrainian dancing here !

I attend no religious sites, rites, or services and not for many years.

Given your love of dance and that you seem to have to do it with a church group, compromise. Life decisions are rarely binary.

I live in MS. Everywhwere you go is a church setting. People have tried to recruit me for church in a fucking bar.

i just realized i have another such (sort of) environment in which i regularly find myself. some days i go, with my guy, who has alzheimer's, to an adult day care. he doesn't like to go without me. it's connected with a jewish assisted living/memory care residential facility (we don't live there). so the meals are all kosher, and if we want to eat something not kosher, we ask for a paper plate or something. the staff of the day care are not jewish, and not all the participants are jewish. it just happens to be connected (and fed) by the residential facility, which IS jewish. so it's not a religious environment, but just as most secular places are nonetheless religiously skewed to christians, this one is the teensiest bit skewed to jews, which kind of evens things out, actually. it's fine.

g

I still keep all the tech working at the church my wife attends, I don't sit in services though.

You are just experiencing the only thing of actual value that (some) churches provide: community. I'd just consider it the price of pursuing your passion.

I used to be an amateur pipe organist. Fortunately for me, I was more interested in theater organ than classical, but if it had been the latter, I would probably have had to suck up to a church somewhere to have access to an instrument to practice / play. I'm sure that a lot of people interested in choral / classical music do that, too. And in fact, the more liberal churches who are likely to have the endowments for such pursuits, tacitly tolerate in their midst, people who are lukewarm or cold about religious faith, or they'd have trouble finding the performance talent they need for their services.