Looks like the conversation has moved far from the original point Peter Griffin made. I too see the value in "the sense of community, the places of contemplative silence, the art, the music". Not so much the art or music themselves but the communal practice of those skills, which goes back to the core want- a sense of community, belonging and purpose that you share with a group with whom you do stuff, a tribe. I think many of us have found our tribe in online spaces and some activities, but it's diluted, fractional and sometimes merely functional. I don't think there's a good alternative though - I don't think I'd sign up for an atheist/secular/humanist church or social club. Sounds weakass and highkey boring.
Kingsley Joseph On Sun, Jan 14, 2024 at 4:34 PM Peter Griffin via Silklist < silklist@lists.digeratus.in> wrote: > Many years ago, when I worked with Forbes India, as part of an anniversary > special, we commissioned an essay by Alain de Botton on a ‘religion for > atheists’ (he has of course written and spoken about this extensively > elsewhere). > https://www.forbesindia.com/article/ideas-to-change-the-world/alain-de-botton-a-religion-for-atheists/13532/1 > > I just came across this. > https://theconversation.com/church-without-god-how-secular-congregations-fill-a-need-for-some-nonreligious-americans-215749 > > I resonate with the thought. After beginning my walk away from > Christianity in my teens and twenties, and all religion some time after, > there have been many times I missed some of the peripheral things about > religion. The sense of community, the places of contemplative silence, the > art, the music. > > What do you folk — believers or otherwise — think? > > ~ peter > -- > Silklist mailing list > Silklist@lists.digeratus.in > https://mailman.panix.com/listinfo.cgi/silklist >
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