Religion fills a social void, how do you get social belonging? Outside of this site of course
Don't know anything about your area but in Brevard County, FL we use Meetup and have something going on at least once a week, sometimes more. Some are just get togethers and some are to expand your mind. Takes some effort but most things that are good do!
Ditto on the meetup.com activities. Very diverse and plentiful things going on this side of the state as well.
In the past I would dig into a Q&A community like this one or start a band. I don’t get social belonging outside this site very much anymore to be honest. There’s a podcast I listen to and the host has started playing games on Twitch for a couple hours every night, so that chat room is fun with a few friends. But other than that and here, I really don’t have much of a tribe left in sociable distance.
I have no need for "social belonging".
I generally do not like people.
I get whatever I need regarding social interaction right here.
I agree with every word you said, KK.
same. Maybe not "none", but I'm fine with social rarity.
@Marcel3405 Makes walking away in the middle of a boring conversation a lot less rude than if one does it in reality.
In NH in the Newport/Lebanon region which I know really well you have meetup groups, Unitarian Churches, and a college town between Lebanon and Dartmouth. I lived in southern NH for many years but I dated a guy from Canaan and hung out in Lebanon. Much going on up there.
I work in animal rescue. It's heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, and most of the people doing it are wonderful.
I have no religion and sense no void. That is something I often hear said but I don’t believe that anymore than I believe in god. Belief in a falisay or god that does not exist is living in a void. Reality is not a void. IMHO
Religion doesn't fill a social void if you are sociable... Meeting at Church every Sunday for Mass is only one event... I have many friends and we get together often to socialize...
I still have a great relationship with my mom even though she is a firm believer and I'm openly athiest. We respect each other when we talk about what we believe and what we do nt. I hope she thinks so. I also have a few atheist friends. Nonreligious people are not rare especially in my field. It does cut down my dating pool but it was already cut down to begin with. I'll never be a good religious wife. I also have a bunch of pets. They serve only one god. The God of death.
I think for a lot of people, especially in small towns, churches provide a sense of community that may be missing from urban lifestyles. Yes, there are plenty of other ways of being social, but churches can be a good support organization. It's nice for people to help out when one of the members is sick or dealing with serious issues. It's just too bad they have to bring in all of the religious nonsense.
My wife got it from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. She would exchange letters with Annie and a couple of others on a regular basis. The highlight of her life was when they had the annual conference in Ann Arbor Michigan some many years ago...meeting the central figures of the Foundation was very exciting for her. One of the speakers was Dr. Jack Kavorkian...way before he got more famous and into trouble. Myself, as an Asperger's, I don't get enthused about social interaction.
I have my circle of friends. I also participate in plays and musicals at the local arts center.
My solitude is my favorite social escape!
In general, I keep to myself. I'm a bit of a recluse.
As long as it’s not a ‘brown recluse’
?
Having never been religious, I would have no idea.
I have a fairly active social calendar, and manage to entertain myself without "resorting" to a church or synagogue for my interactions! There is appeal in the society of a religious fellowship - if only it did not involve a god or religion! That said, I would like to find more social activities with like-minded people. But how to find that in a region? Are there atheist/agnostic groups that meet and socialize without it being a gathering to push an agenda? By that I merely question if atheists and agnostics get together for social activities with no more scheduled than visiting?
(I just started a group for others in agnostics.com who would be interested in connecting with others who like to go RV-ing with their pets, please check it out! [agnostic.com]
@Rustee I belong to an atheist group that meets to socialize and not to push an agenda. Check out meet up or start one.
if it weren't for golf here & lawn-bowling in AZ i'd have very little contact with people.
when i was younger & drinking i would go to bars, play pool & sometimes get into arguments which resulted in fights.
i do kinda miss those days. it's like when i was in the Navy we'd go ashore with enough money to know that we were going to get really smashed & maybe lucky with a girl. but the biggest thing was the sense of adventure.