The UK’s first atheist ‘church’ is expanding to more than 20 cities across Britain and the world, including New York and Sydney.

Stand-up comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans set up the gathering in January this year, saying they like many aspects of religion but don’t believe in God.

Now the pair are embarking on a global tour to visit other congregations that have set up with a similar premise, across England, Scotland, the USA and Australia.

Disappear

But Nick Spencer, research director of religious think-tank Theos, said similar groups that formed in the 19th century disappeared within a couple of generations.

He said: “The reason for that was because you need more than an absence to keep you together. You need a firm common purpose.”

He said people in these modern-day atheist churches are united by a “felt absence of community”.

Community

He added: “I suspect what brings them together is a real desire for community when in a modern, urbanised individualised city like London you can often feel very alone. That creates a lot of camaraderie, but the challenge then becomes, what actually unites us?”

The ‘Sunday Assembly’ meetings follow a pattern of songs, time for reflection, and a secular talk.

Ruth Gledhill, journalist for The Times, noted that at one gathering a poem was read out and a cup of wine was passed around the congregation while a wine connoisseur spoke from the front about the “fruits of the vine”.

The founders hope to see 1,000 atheist ‘churches’ worldwide within a decade.