Introduction: spiritualizing the urban and the urbanesque

The­expression­“Sunday­assembly”­will­for­most­people­at­first­instance­refer­to­ a­ religious­ gathering­ of­ a­ traditional­ and­ typically­Christian­ kind.­ Since­ 2013,­ however, the naming of “Sunday Assembly” can be encountered in various countries and cities, but then couched with a different meaning.1 It is the naming of a “group” that is displayed as a global and urban network of people, depicting themselves as “a global movement of wonder and good” and “a godless congregation that celebrates life.” The Sunday Assembly’s mission was initially described as “to­help­everyone­find­and­fulfil­their­full­potential,”­although­it­was­again­recently­ changed into a slightly less postmodern wording into “To help everyone live life as fully as possible” and “to wonder more” and “to help often.”2 The “Sunday Assembly” movement got off the ground quickly. While it has decelerated in recent years in terms of growth, it does continue to spread. Its members are wideranging in age: from their late twenties up to mid-sixties, mostly middle class in background. The movement envisions to create “godless” congregations in every town, city and village of the world where people want to have a congregation.