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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

Linux User Groups?

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.

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 😂

yes

https://www.sundayassembly.org/

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.

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.

I joined a political party and I engage in social projects. Together we work for a common goal (which is more tangible than religious promises for hell / heaven). In addition, I search for new friends to have a coffee with. It is work!

I would see if you have a Unitarian Universalist (UU) Congregation near you.

It IS technically a religion, but it doesn't feel like anyone is trying to make you believe anything, is aggressively LGBTQIA+ friendly, and is also welcoming to all races and cultures (it is literally in their commandments to respect people regardless of creed or views, and respect their individual search for truth and meaning).

While people there are incredibly nice, welcoming etc..the big downside is that most people at UU churches are usually older. It's got a lot of "old hippie" energy, which is great but they might have less younger people if you're looking for people in your age group. You won't really know until you visit your (hopefully) nearby congregation.

They do have traditional church services, with sitting at pews and singing hymns (a select hymnal with a lot of pagany hymns) and a sermon, but the sermon is always about philosophical things and thought provoking stuff, or more recently about current events. For example, when I went for my first time to a nearby church, the reverend spoke about her life growing up queer and everything the world did to make her feel like she didn't belong.

If you can give the church format a chance, I can't recommend it enough. A lot of the greatest most loving people I have met have been UU, and I still love and cherish them to this day.

Sorry if this is too churchy for what you are looking for. I would say if you're pretty liberal/leftist and you want to find groups that do/talk about stuff like that you can often find those connected to UU churches in some way and they'll never pressure you beyond "oh we hope you will stay, we love to have you" and things like that.

I feel I should make a video about this. Online social media has made it very easy to find the 500 people across the whole world who think our frog picture is funny. It’s a lot harder to find 3 people in your town to have a drink with.

One simple idea; something I joined instead of initiating, is to make a WhatsApp group, put its QR code on a page (print at the library if you don’t have one) then put up the link anywhere you think people tend to walk. Explain it’s a social group for your given age demographic, but suggest it’s open to anyone. From there, suggest outings, get to know people, ask or offer small favors, etc.

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.

Church without church is just a book club.

Men in sheds is now fairly international. It's primarily aimed is at retired or disadvantaged men. Most are not gender limiting however. They often do a lot of community outreach stuff too.

For younger demographics, makerspaces (aka hackspaces or hackerspaces) fill a similar role. You don't need to go in with any particular knowledge, just an attitude of making new friends.

Also, don't be afraid to use groups as jumping off points. Often members will be involved in other activities that might suit you better.

Unitarian Universalism. It is about common social values - you know, stuff like helping your neighbors and whatnot. You don't have to be a particular religion, just be decent.

Honestly, libraries can be. Big, you can visit whenever, they have weekly events and a community that you can get to know.

EDIT: But that's probably a profoundly obvious answer, sorry haha.

Hello and thank you for asking the question I have been waiting to answer.

I have been an atheist since I was eleven. At times, I have been viciously critical of organized religion. I have absolutely no tolerance for intolerance of people on the basis of skin colour, ability, or sexual orientation, identity, or preference.

My wife and I wanted to have a child, but we had no family and few friends in a new city. In any case, both my mother and mother-in-law have passed away. If our child was ever going to have much of a community, we knew we would have to build it.

Two years ago I started to go to church. I tried to pick carefully: I was not interested in hearing about how people are lowly sinners, that we need to be saved, that without big-G God we are all screwed, etc., etc. In my case, I settled on the United Church of Canada. I found a local ministry that had undertaken the process of becoming an Affirming Ministry - that is, a ministry that explicitly seeks to atone for past mistreatment of LGBTQ2S+ community members and explicitly welcomes their full participation. I sought this not because I am a member of that community, but because I consider it a sign of a genuine desire to be and do good on the part of the congregation. I am aware that the United Church was involved in residential schools and that the abuse of Indigenous People in such schools was horrible. The UC does not try to hide their involvement. They have apologized and are trying to make amends for the unforgivable things the church was party to - I think the effort to do better is sincere.

When I went to my first service, I was shaking. I brought a notepad and pen to write down all the awful stuff that I expected the Minister to say. People were friendly enough, but they didn't know I was ... an atheist. I thought that when they found out, they would chase me out with torches and pitchforks. I sat through the whole service waiting to hear the minister say something unforgivable so we could get up and leave.

So it's been two years and this is how it is going: I am an openly atheist member of my church community. I don't go every week, but I miss it when I don't go. Everyone was friendly, from the beginning. Nothing changed when I told them I was an atheist. No one has EVER tried to convert me: not the minister, not anybody. Other members of the congregation believe different things than I believe, but we don't get in each other's faces about it.

Mostly, we sing and talk about what it means to be a good person. Then we eat biscuits and drink coffee and chat. Religion has never come up outside of service.

Our minister says that god is love - and I think she might mean it literally. Sometimes I genuinely believe that what we are celebrating is nothing more than the idea of people loving each other, caring for each other, and striving to build a better world. We don't discuss sin or the afterlife. We welcome people of other faiths (and no faith) into our church.

A common theme at our church is the idea that Jesus has no hands but these (please imagine i am gesturing with my hands, and pointing at yours, etc). If the very mention of "Jesus" makes you cringe a little - I am right there with you. However, what I think they mean is that if people want to create a better world, we have to do the work. No one is coming to help us. Our church tries to do some of that good work: we sponsor refugees (currently a muslim family from Afghanistan who come to all the social events but rarely the service), we collect for the foodbank, do outreach to the elderly and disabled. We even organized a counter-protest when a hate group held a rally in our city. Church is a great way to find volunteer opportunities, if you are into that.

On the social side, our latest initiative is a games night. We also do movie screenings and play groups. We are trying to become, in some small way, a third place. You absolutely do NOT have to come to service to attend this events.

As for my family? They love it. It has become an important part of our social life. We know people in our community, and my son gets to meet all sorts - including our new friends who are elderly and disabled. I believe that a way to raise tolerant and empathic kids is to expose them to real diversity.

Not every church is like this, I know. The UC even has an atheist Minister (in Toronto, I believe) - that can't be common. Maybe your town doesn't have something like this. If you can't find this, you could try the Secular Humanist Association. I used to go to their weekly meetings - they never said anything cringe, but they also never did much in the way of helping the community. Also, they don't sing :(

Edit: i accidentally used a real name haha

Try a library if you want to do family activities.

Do you live in a city, and do you have hobbies? If you like stuff like anime, go to an anime con, it's great and how I know a huge amount of my friend group

Unitarian church

They do sermons by different people on different topics.

Sunday Assembly is what you're looking for.

You can usually find community and some cool people at local mutual aid groups, here's how to find those.

You could do Satanism but not actually worship Satan since he doesn't exist either but rather, I believe it is the Satanic Temple(look it up). Their credo is really good, like treat people equally and with kindness, that sort of thing. I think they formed to sort if troll Christians. Like if Christians were able to put a nativity in the capital, the temple would also apply to put something in the capital.

Anyway, another idea would be to join a maker space, if you like to use your hands.

Personally, I'm into cars so I joined a club and I race on weekends and go to car shows. I think anything that puts you on contact with like minded people will help you meet people to make friends. Good luck.

If you are willing to risk a financially debilitating addiction to cardboard or minis, your local game store could fill that role. I have jokingly referred to my usually-weekly visit to my LGS as "nerd church," complete with the tithe of a few booster packs. You have to get lucky though because the quality of community can vary wildly. I am fortunate in that regard.

If a hobby exists there's probably a local group for it

Things like hiking, biking, gardening are the most common

Check out the Unitarians

Live music performances often fill that void for me. It doesn't have to be a fancy orchestra or expensive venue, my town hosts free live music once a week. The music is nice because it gives you the opportunity to zone out and be introspective while surrounded by others. There is also usually a social scene before and after the set.

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)

Birding. Get into birdwatching. Mediative closeness with nature. A realization of the whole. Everything is connected

Kinda random, but I've thought about joining a local non-church choir to meet people in a similar way.

Join a choir. Same connection.

Nope, nothing else offers an out from the fear of death.

look for granges and mutual aid projects. that's been my experience. they offer the community and the mutual support, put without the guilt, shame, and hate

I wish something like the sunrise movement started a new religion about taking climate change seriously. No sky bully, just people gathering weekly to hear about the earth, what we can do to make it better.

What would the core tenements be?

• anti consumption
• probably encouraging people to eat less/no meat
• energy efficiency - home improvements that make a difference
• most importantly- opting away from big corporate polluters when at all possible. Buy local not Amazon. Individual choice doesn’t mean much compared to systemic environmental harm.

I’ve also thought about this a bit and this is my best pitch. But I don’t think it’s very likely to happen when it’s hard enough just getting by for most people now.

I go to a music school where I practice with a band for 90 minutes every Sunday.

I also host "sauna sundays" at my house during the colder months.

My partner for awhile played mahjong with a group every weekend at the local furry coffee shop and taproom.

There are so many ways to church without church, and arguably they're a hell of a lot better than religious indoctrination and reinforcement. Nobody needs that shit to love their neighbor.

You do not need to be a member to join events in most public University clubs.

Take an art class

I think that's a book club.

Where I live, pretty rural mountain county, we've got like 5 run clubs, 8 mountain bike clubs, 3 ski clubs, a weekly triathlon when it's warmer out, and just a ton of other community events. Getting in shape is a lot more fun when you have friends that will encourage you. All you have to do is show up consistently.

Run club got me through some very lonely depressed times.

Earlier in time we all had a little bit of money left over for adventure and community. Nowadays everything costs too much and is branded and corporatized to cost even more. Most rational thinking people just stay home because they're broke. I agree that we need more real life socialization opportunities but the best we can do is technology "social" media.