Yes .I think you are being a bit silly. A church is only a building. Go and support your daughter at her wedding.

I have no problems attending weddings, funerals or other events in religious houses just spare me the sermon.

Of course and I have!

Yes! This is your daughter's day... do it for her! You aren't being hypocritical... you're being kind!

Especially if the one getting married is your daughter.

Yes, the wedding is really about the couple getting married. Just being in a church does not compromise your belief system.

It's not about you.

I felt this way many decades ago when my sister-in-law decided to get married in a church..But I went anyway..I thought it was petty of me to feel like I couldn't enter a building that tis after all just a building..If it is not 'imbued' with whatever mythical thing they claim then why not? If I was in Europe I wouldn't miss the Sagrada Familia, or Notre Dame, or any other church temple or place where there was art that I am longing to see..what is the difference? And believe me when I say that I despise all forms of organized religion...all of them. But that wouldn't stop me from going into the building where these 'rites' might be held. I think it used to be called 'cutting off your nose to spite your face" or something similar..You are talking about snubbing your daughter's wedding, not being a closet worshipper or something..

Yes! Your daughter is doing something that is going to change the rest of her life. Making a commitment to her boyfriend and in doing so both are making a commitment to the families of the other. It matters not that you think the religious nonsense is just that. What matters is that you are there to support your daughter in her decision. In that there will be no hypocracy. No one is saying that you have to pray or do the silly nonsense that I completely understand you do not want to do. It is more important that you show your daughter respect for her decision because as this is a decision that in reality is one that affects both families and she will know that you have done something for her that I assume she knows you don't exactly want to do. This will show her that you love her, care about her, and respect her decisions even when part of that decision is to do this in a church.

My hope is that you come to the decision that supports your daughter, in doing so you will bring everyone involved closer together. Deciding not to attend will most likely do the exact opposite and I don't think that is your intent in this matter.

I view them as architecture, and admire the craftsmen or women , beyond this l agree it is better to be there in respect of your daughter,s choice as she has respected you.

There is no reason to not partake in your friends love and celebration just because you know the building is dumb

By not going you would give credence to their "values". However, now you're free. Do what you bloody well feel like.

Sounds like you may be giving the church too much power.

You're not entering the building to worship, you're there to attend an important moment in your daughter's life. That doesn't make you a hypocrite.

As long as you stand up and announce that you are an atheist you should be okay... Just kidding. I don't see how entering a particular building can cause you to be hypocritical. Your thoughts are your own no matter where you go.

Why mpt? It's just a building and if you don't believe in a creator then what it said should not bother you. I mean it's not your wedding ceremony. Right?

It's your life and decision, but my daughter had a JW wedding. I don't believe in their theology, but she does and I respect that. To me it was more important to be there for her on a very significant day in her life that was centered around her and her husband, instead of me forcing it to be centered around my beliefs. I would attend the event, after all it's just a building, and I don't see how your entrance through the door will negate or undermine your beliefs or integrity. It's not like it's being held in a Nazi themed auditorium or KKK seance. That's just my 2cents...

I cannot say you are being silly if a church building bothers you; i can only say it wouldn't bother me, and i have never been a christian, and have been an atheist for half a century. i don't know whether telling you how i feel about it will help, but i'll tell you in case it does, and hope for the best ) you are allowed to rethink your promise to yourself on this basis: a church is a building. to you it represents religion, and that is what it usually represents, but it doesn't have to threaten you. it's just a building. if there is no god, you're not walking in the shadow of a god by entering the building. to me christianity is getting worse and worse, more and more intrusive, not only into the lives of nonbelievers but into the lives of other-believers, and interfering in american politics to a disgusting extent. however, if i were in london, i would definitely visit the parish church of st. martin-in-the-fields at about 12:45 on a weekday, since that church has wonderful chamber music concerts, free for anyone who shows up before 1:05 (and the pews fill up fast). i have been to churches and synagogues (and on beaches!) to see friends and relatives get married. i wasn't injured, i didn't feel as if i was tacitly accepting the religion or the deity of the place of worship involved (i didn't turn into a mermaid on the beach either) and i hope i made my friends and relatives happy by being there. so regarding your promise, i think you were promising yourself something different from what you thought you were. you did not want to enter religious buildings -- but buildings cannot be religious. if you do not believe in a religion, then you do not believe in the sanctity of a mere building, even if it is used for religious purposes. you are therefore not being a hypocrite entering such a building for a purpose that has nothing to do with your worship of a god, and will not make you appear to worship a god. you know, and everyone else will know, that your presence isn't about that, but, rather, about witnessing the happiness of your daughter and your son-in-law. (keeping good relations with his family, without compromising yourself, is a good thing, too!)

g

Go ahead. It can be very educational. The last time I was in a church there was this huge crucifix over the alter and I realized that they are worshiping torture and death. That realization explained a lot.

Speaking as a daughter and an atheist, you should go. You will definitely regret it if you don't and not too sound mean (or trollish), the fact that you're asking means that you know you probably should.

I've been to churches since I've removed the blindfold of religion and it doesn't bother me. It doesn't make me a hypocrite and I don't lie if it comes up. And yes, I've told ministers that I am an atheist. None of them ever batted an eyelid either.

The first time I went into a church as an atheist, I expected the walls to start dripping with blood LOL Seriously though, just go and enjoy her big day. She'll love you even more knowing that you made an exception to 'no church' just for her. ??

Suck it up Buttercup, go to your daughters wedding, its not about you, its her day.

Just be careful around the holy water, it burns, gawd it burns so bad.

I think refusing to go to a wedding in a church or a funeral in a church because you are an atheist is a misplaced concern. By refusing to go to the wedding because it is in a church also looks a bit like you are attempting to pressure your daughter to get married somewhere else. It's your daughter's wedding and it should be however she wants it. Go and enjoy it.

It's your Daughter. Don't be a dumbass. Supporting your family is more important. You're not being asked to preach a sermon or dedicate your life to silly nonsense. Not going because of "Religious difference" will make you look like douche. Make the smart choice and go to the wedding.

Yes you are being silly. Go to your daughters' wedding.

If you want my opinion, you're being unreasonable. You can go inside a church as an atheist and not be a hypocrite if it means supporting your loved ones. You're only a hypocrite if you go to church regularly, bow your head and pray, and then leave calling yourself an atheist.

I think you need to decide whose big day it is, and if your daughter is more important to you than some silly policy. Because in the end you refusing to share in her special day just because it's inside a building you don't like is unfair to her, and it's making her wedding about you.