Its kind of a pointless rant: Why do people believe this crap? But one of the answers makes sense. In short, people want to belong to something that is larger than themselves. If there is some Dungeons and Dragons mixed in then they’re willing to disregard or reduce the focus on the problematic dogma in order to enjoy the larger benefit of not being alone in a hostile world.
I, and others, can’t ignore the Dungeons and Dragons elements of organized religion. But I’ll admit to having my soul tugged at by the thought of belonging to a community of belief that is bigger than my family and which helps its members be ‘right.’ And by ‘right’ I mean, good to each other as well as to the non.
I’m really drawing a blank here. Is there an organization that is structured like a church: frequent, family-oriented inspirational & motivational meetings, activities, etc. that DON’T include an element of “…and all you have to do is believe that this impossible and unverifiable myth is the truth?”
I don’t know, but I recently saw some very charismatic and logical Christian Science readings, as read by…get this,Val Kilmer. It was on late at night, and quite jarring-charming. I liked it’s nourishment.
Don’t they generally avoid doctors and medicine? I don’t think a person who is looking for the support that a church gives, without the God part, is going to be interested in giving up what medical science has to offer.
I wouldn’t mind something that DID have a little magic to it. I am finding myself VERY turned off by, well, not Christianity, just the Church part of it. I think religion, and a need for something after death, is a central need. I just don’t think it’s a country club where you get milk, honey, 250 cable channels, and the infidels burn eternally.
Eternally is a long long time.
It also seemed like church was an inspirational way to keep people going (I’m thinking what little I know of the Old west. Drought, weather, harsh living conditions, but if you keep it up, you’ll have eternal rest. It was like an endless motivational speaker trying to keep the congregation from mass suiciding.)
The last church service I attended, they had a portion of it devoted to adding people’s issues to the prayer chain. It was kind of jarring. ‘Please pray for Betty Joe’s kidney stones.’ I had a real hard time with that, and I’m not quite sure why.
Would you happen to know the url of the national website? I tried looking for it but couldn’t find it. When I binged it, I only found websites for each area, but there were too many to see if I could find mine. I was hoping for a national website with a locator on it.
It does indeed look like what I was hoping to find. Except for NY, there are very few chapters in every state. There is one chapter that is held on the internet, but I was hoping to find one in my community.
Some folks who have been turned off by more traditional churches have enjoyed FGC-style Quaker meetings. Not so much FUM and definitely not EFCI.
Just note that meetings vary a lot, so YMMV significantly.
Generally, you’ll find that everyone believes in God in some way or another (although not always). It kind of breaks down after that.
Not saying this is what the OP is looking for, but others might be.
*Friends General Conference, Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International
This athiest found Quaker meetings (mandatory at boarding school) to be somewhat like what the OP seeks, FWIW. The religious belief part was still goofy but was not as heavyhanded as it often is in other churches.
I will second the votes for the Unitarians, and to a lesser extent, the Quakers. I’m still not really completely comfortable calling myself an atheist, but it’s basically what I am, and I feel welcome at our local Unitarian church. The message there is heavy on peace, love, and understanding of fellow man, and light on the giant sky pixie stuff.
