alternative communities

Among the oldest topics on atheists is a discussion on alternative communities.

It has a few interesting links.

29/01/2004

Jonathan

Alternative communities?

My parents have never attended church, so I grew up without it.

I didn't have an answer to "What church do you belong to?" As I'm sure some of you know, this is not a popular social situation.

In addition to being 'different' via belief, I was not exposed (nor were my parents) to a community of families that religious groups provide.

While not married or a parent, I often wonder what I might do once a parent to offer my children access to a social community where families interact without inviting dogma or ritual.

If you have solved or are dealing with these issues, please share your thoughts.

30/01/2004

Patri

Cohousing / intentional community

One option is to live in an Intentional Community[http://www.ic.org/] or CoHousing[http://www.cohousing.org/]. Also there are many homeschool groups which provide some social activities. Or you can be a member of a club/organization which works for all ages, I had a lot of good experiences with the SCA[http://www.sca.org/], which my parents were involved in.

31/01/2004

Liz

Some towns have Ethical Societies. They define themselves as religions, often, though they are made up of non-theists. I think maybe the religion thing is a practicality. But they often have Sunday School type things for kids in which they talk about Ethics (obviously) without theism. I have no experience with Ethical Societies -- this is what I gather from reading about them.

There are also often Humanist groups, but they don't seem quite as community and family focused as the Ethical Societies do.

02/02/2004

Joe

All of this depends on your definition of religion. There is the ever-popular: group of people who believe in a supernatural being. However there is the less conventional definition, at least in the US, that a religion is a system of beliefs, not necessarily pertaining to a supernatural being. I personally take the latter to be mine, and consider my Secular Humanistic beliefs to be a religion.

08/03/2004

Adam

Community through arts

Get your kids involved in arts... dancing, music, preferably something that's not solitary, though (e.g., partner dancing, playing in a band, performing in theatre, etc.).

Though I was Bar Mitvah'd and went to Hebrew School and all that (and was NOT all that happy about it, but did it to placate my parents), I found that I found my REAL community and solid friendships from arts-based activities I was involved in.

I haven't been in a temple in a decade, and today I still find my community through Art. In particular, through Lindy Hop (swing dancing) and the social circles surrounding it in my area. And -- if there was a God -- I'd feel a lot closer to him/her/it by singing or dancing than by sitting reading stale passages from a book ;)

08/03/2004

Louis

I find it difficult to understand the church being that all pervasive. In london even the supposedly christian institutions (I went to a church of england school and spent a lot of saturdays in the YMCA) have almost no real link to god. I used to joke that the "YMCA" should just be called the "A" as you didn't have to be young, male or christian to go there.

there are as many communities as there are interests in the world. Me I've made most of my freinds through my interests...

Actually I think maybe alcohol replaces the church in britain, because it is very difficult to socialise if you refuse to go into a pub.

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