I am not religious and have no desire to start being now but sometimes I just want the community people get with church. I am craving connection with the community and feel it’s very healthy for families and neighbors as well. The United States is seriously lacking in third spaces and communities. It’s leading to a serious loneliness epidemic… Just wondering if there is anything that can fill that need for non-religious folks?
There are all kinds of clubs out there depending on where you live and your interests. Even the rotary club is a way to connect and do good work while not being religious.
To give more details on kind of clubs (while being more EU focused, but I don’t see why the same wouldn’t exists in the US)
Sport clubs, avoid the commercial Gym where everyone lift their own weight, but a team-sport, an outdoor sport requiring to travel means you’ll spend time with other. Some more traditional martial-art even have this drop of oriental philosophy about respecting and helping the others
Political group, you’re on Lemmy, so you may be interested
Volunteer group, stuff like the red-cross, and many more look for volunteers you’ll spend a lot of time with others. Actually when I’ve made my 1st aid course, the trainer told us a couple of time that they look for volunteer to go further, and at a point dropped that the red-cross is a massive dating club.
Rotary club is just a free masonry recruiting program.
Those bricks aren’t going to lay themselves my guy
Hard working bricks if you know what I mean… 😁😁
Genuinely what’s wrong with Freemasonry? Everything I’ve read about it made me more interested in joining than anything…
I don’t really see the problem. Is it a political stance that is tied to the far right for instance? Or does it have ties to the elite? Maybe deep state sort of thing?
If you get into an influential position like the government, a political party, corporation or mass media they will arrive to recruit you at some point. You can’t just go and join like a religion you need to be invited by someone already in. Or if your parent is already into it you directly get in. I think the easiest way to “join” is to study something related to laws or political science and make connections there. Usually they recruit people from high-grade educational institutions as a way to make them get into important positions. Once you are in there are several grades you will be escalating, each grade you achieve will give you a better position into the organization. They are not into the right-left game. It goes beyond that.
I thought their core philosophy was accepting people no matter their social status, religion, occupation or wealth…
I guess it depends on the lodge. From what I’ve read, most of them say that of course it’s easier if you already know someone, but you can just contact them directly if you don’t.
Obviously I don’t know whether or not the selection process is fair to everyone. They say it’s about your values but it could secretly be about your connections and power.
Team sports, volunteer work, social clubs, table top rpgs, choir or a band, basically any hobby you do offline in a group,…
Honestly the fact that you have to ask this question kinda shows how broken the society you live in is.
This is what’s called a “third place”. And they’ve been deliberately killed off or commercialized.OP mentioned the lack of third places by name in the post
edit: they said third space, same idea
This is something of the intention of a unitarian church. They use largely judeo Christian imagery but they don’t actually GAF what your beliefs are and are generally open to not necessarily debate but definitely exploration of non-judeo Christian theologies and / or philosophies.
Came here to say this. I attend 1-2 times a month and mine has so far taught me about breathing exercises for meditation and the shadow self from Jung. Just a group of great people also searching for community.
Check your local Unitarian Universalism (UU) branch.
https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/article-ii-study-commission/about-article-2
"Section C-2.1. Principles.
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote
The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."
…getting some very religious vibes from this text
I mean, the UU church is still a church after all, but without a lot of the toxic trappings. You aren’t going to get anyone telling you the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus for example.
https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/beliefs/christianity/views-jesus
"UUs may view Jesus as a moral exemplar, practicing the compassion, generosity, and mercy that he preached. In his own life and in stories like the Good Shepherd and the Good Samaritan, Jesus calls us to connect: to transcend pride and selfishness and choose instead to love and serve, to do good, and to care for each other.
For some, Jesus is a prophetic leader and an instrument of the divine. They may or may not believe Jesus was the son of God or was resurrected but share with Christians a conviction that his witness has the spiritual power to redeem mistakes and save lives. Many describe a personal relationship with him that strengthens and inspires. Jesus calls us to discover new life and truth by following him.
Others view Jesus as a reformer and dissident, an underdog and ally. He was executed as a political criminal because of his teachings, but his life made an impact, then and now. He called out injustice in his own community and in the government. He stood with and spoke up for the most vulnerable, and he challenged his followers to feed the hungry and visit the imprisoned. Jesus calls us to transform, to resist the unjust systems that divide us, and reshape them for good."
Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable with any field of thought other than “Jesus was a literary fiction, constructed by the early church as a method of control over an illiterate populace.” but then that’s why I don’t go to church. 😉
Interesting, how you suddenly make that switch from some super abstract, nebulous nothingness to a lengthy framing of Jesus.
I don’t, it’s the UU folks, and each UU church is slightly different. You can see my personal opinion at the bottom. 😉
Thought I’d share that UU congregations I’ve been a part of really don’t like focusing too much on Jesus/Christianity, especially outside of the high Christian holidays. We even held an Earth Day service on an Easter Sunday because we have more members who identify with various varieties of paganism/wicca or are agnostic
I’m an atheist, and a UU church is the only church where I felt truly accepted and comfortable. Granted, this is in CO in a progressive area.
The minster was a lesbian woman, and her sermons were just stories about kindness and courage and connection. It was great.
I don’t think I have heard anyone mention god in the year I was there. YMMV.
I have a couple of friends who go to one of the UU churches in Dallas. I think maybe Roe came from it.
Fellow UU here, second checking them out. Wanted to emphasize that there’s no expectation to believe a particular religious text. Our services lately have been around the themes of practicing resistance (which can take many forms) and being resilient in the face of adversity. Our congregation celebrates holidays from most major religious traditions as well as secular holidays like Earth Day and Trans Day of Visibility. I’m also a big fan of the community volunteer opportunities and music program. Each congregation is a bit different based on the membership, here’s a link to find one near you. Many stream services on Zoom so you can check them out with very low commitment.
Yes, Quakers. They sit reflectively with one another instead of listening to services (generally speaking). Some don’t consider themselves religious
Some prominent non-theist Quakers out there, like Charlie Brooker, creator and head writer of Black Mirror and the various Philomena Cunk series Cunk On…
TIL, Charlie identifies as Quaker.
Been watching his content since Oink! Comics, highly approve.
Imagine if the west had been dominated by the quakers during colonialism, instead of the puritans, how different the world would be.
Interesting thought experiment. The thing is, Puritanism is older than Quakerism, I think. Oldest long term English Settlement in the region is Jamestown from 1607, but quakerism is 1657’-52. The Puritans had a head start.
I also get the feeling Catholics and the other protestant groups, who later settled in the USA in huge numbers, would have hated the hypothetical Quaker majority and done violence against them or driven them out.
Fun fact: Quakers were important advocates against slavery in the UK (presumably in the USA too), from its very inception.
Oh I know, and I understand why it didn’t work out that way. But imagine if it did.
Also yes, the quakers were also very anti slavery in the US. The quakers seem to be (from what I’ve read) on the right side of almost every issue the capitalist imperialist west has faced for as long as they’ve been around.
They do seem like the OG liberals
The quakers were far superior to liberals
No corn or soy, just oats as far as the eye can see
Quakers run the spectrum. Some are just pacifist hippies and some, although they tend to be the older crowd, are still pretty theologically committed to being actively religious.
Rotary (or Rotaract depending on your age) may fill that niche for you? It’s been pretty good for me, personally, and has a huge focus on connecting with and doing good in your local community.
I was going to recommend this as well. My local rotary club is vibrant and relatively young (some aren’t) and we do a lot of volunteer work. It’s intentionally apolitical and secular.
So you’re not religious. You just want the community? How about joining a club. Something that interests you. It’s an opportunity to meet like-minded people with whom you should get along.
I knew a Unitarian. He described going to church as more like a weekly potluck.
There are also local political clubs you could look into as they will be focused on local community issues.
I just started going to a Unitarian Universalist church. I grew up Catholic and couldn’t stand it. Instead of reading from the Bible or talking about God they are reading words from civil rights activists and talking about how to build community and resist ICE. I really have been enjoying this as a way to actually get out of the house and connect with people with similar values. This Sunday I signed up to help in their garden planning for this season too.
Several of the local game shops have table space areas, and “game nights” open to newcomers. Euro-style table-top games and D&D / Pathfinder RPGs are usually casual.
It’s called a bar.
tried this and caught alcoholism, 0/10 would not recommend.
Highly recommend volunteer work, perhaps habitat for humanity? Volunteer organizations are typically very welcoming, and your surrounded by folks who are willing to give something back, instead of interested in your wallet.
Sports clubs and hobby clubs for sure. In Australia we have clubs called Men’s* Sheds that are for things like woodworking, but also a place to talk about mental health - things like loneliness. (*I don’t think they’re all so exclusively Men’s sheds these days).
I play disc golf and that sometime feels like a church haha. Trying tk convince people it’s an awesome sport amd get them to try it feels like trying to convert someone 😂
Disc Golf League Night is a great way to meet people
Vancouver had some groups, they may have them where you are at.
One was an atheist group meeting weekly to do what churches do as a community gathering, helping out in the local area etc.
Another was the Processions, which was (from what I gather) a church that didn’t talk about god, as trying to describe or talk about god takes away from what god is. So they’d just meet as a community with an understanding they believed in a higher creator.
Fraternal orders. Elks, Moose, etc. The internal vibe is exactly like church but with beer instead of sermons. You do not have to be religious to join but some of them do require a belief in God.
I’m still a member of the Elks, although I haven’t been active in a number of years since I moved too far away from any local lodges. I made a lot of good friends when I was active. One thing that was always nice, back when I had to travel for work I could stop by a lodge, if there was one near by, and they would usually treat me like I belonged there. I always appreciated that.
Hobbies. I do rock climbing and hiking so I show up consistently at the rock gym and make friends. I’ve found a hiking discord in my region and have friends that way now.
