Solidarity Forever: What American Atheists Don't Understand

Photo credit: Fox 21

There's a basic human desire for oneness with others expressed in various ways by all groups - religious or secular, liberal or conservative. Socialists, among whom there are quite a few atheists, have expressed this intuitive longing in Ralph Chaplin's famous labor anthem, "Solidarity Forever." It is in the context of this pursuit of oneness that we can arrive at a better understanding of why Christians attend church. Contrary to what the atheist group putting up the billboard signs assume, the Christian doesn't attend "in order to be a good person," but to achieve oneness with God and others - a oneness most visibly expressed in the Eucharist. Interestingly, we can Christianize the chorus of Chaplin's song without significantly modifying the words: "Solidarity forever, communion makes us strong."