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Is there anything like church without the church? (lemmy.world)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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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?

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[–] 5 points 9 months ago (1 child)

Church seems to fill the hobby need and has some of the same core aspects

  • common interest
  • regular meet ups
  • online and in person groups

Honestly replacement really could be as simple as finding a group that fits your hobbies (I’m in a writing group for example)

Alternatively volunteer, it checks a lot of the same boxes (sense of community, trying to make things better) with none of the religious bits (assuming you find an agnostic organization)

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Church is definitely easier to keep managed than the other options. I thought I finally found a hobby group of people I enjoyed hanging out with, but after a couple weeks everyone just stopped talking to each other. We even have a Discord group and the last message was sent in mid-December.

    I've also struggled to find much for volunteer work that gets me connected to people I'd want to be around. Seems like the only people doing volunteer stuff are people 10+ years younger than me, usually young girls, which just makes me feel uncomfortable being the only guy in his 30s.

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