Religion
In reply to the discussion: The two big things I think religion provides that secularism does not. [View all]Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)of secular/nonreligious people.
Your second, however, is wrong by 180 degrees. Or I should say that it is only accurate in homogeneous groups, those that share the same faith, mostly the same color, and same general beliefs. Here in the U.S., none of this is accurate, Churches, Temples, Synagogues, Mosques, etc. are prolific, and divided, even among their various religions. Especially with minority religions, you have people gather for once a week at the "local" Mosque, but it would be every Muslim within a 2 hour drive, by highway, that's at least a 120 mile diameter circle, more or less. That isn't a community so much as a demographic.
If they wanted to start a food drive to benefit the larger community, outside their Mosque, where would they start? Which city? Which Neighborhood?
Other times you have smaller homogeneous communities confined in smaller areas, neighborhoods and cities, though still, its not 100% uniform, so again, a gathering at a local Church will exclude members of that local community.
A couple of things to recognize is that the whole idea that communities gathered at churches and enjoyed their community that way is largely a myth. It was a place of drama, exclusion, gossip, etc. still is, in many places. This isn't going to change, and secular alternatives fail to mass fail because mass was never needed. Community is needed, and it comes in many forms.
For example, join a local reading group with your public library, go to Comic-Con, or to a Ren Faire. Go to St. Patrick's Day parade, or Oktoberfest, Pride or Mardi Gras(or all of them). Join a club that interests you, and go ahead and lament the loss of Sunday gatherings, they are no big loss, and were much more exclusive than anything I mentioned above.
And if activism is your thing, go volunteer for a book fair, I did, very rewarding(an end in itself!) or something else that catches your eye, or fits with your interests or skills.
The problem is that your vision is too narrow and your focus too broad. Community isn't found in church, churches are cliques, at best.