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?
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
What’s a grange?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Grange
fraternal order with an overall left-wing populist stand on most things founded right after the civil war. fundamentally, granges represent a form of mutual aid with a bit more structure, a bit more hierarchy, and a bit more pre-existing connections into local communities than starting a new mutual aid project from scratch.
they’re a bit more direct in how they seek to help people through politics than things like the odd fellows or rotary clubs, but also a little bit more explicitly political. that said, for the experience of being in a church and removing harmful aspects, they have a lot of the same features:
Cool, thanks :)