I know People who join a Religion or stay in a Religion to have a social life ?

[tradeunionsupporter]

I know People who join a Religion or stay in a Religion to have a social life make friends and to have a sense of community and group identity what can be done to get People to understand that we as Humans don't need Religion for any of these things ? I understand Humans desire a sense of family community identity and friends and a social life.

Richard Dawkins - "Muslim" as a cultural label

Uploaded by DENBT1 (http://www.youtube.com/user/DENBT1) on Jul 24, 2009
Richard Dawkins - "Muslim" as a cultural label

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m0ci8y4m38

[Prometeo liberado]

I 'm not getting what the question is. Could you pose one please. A statement of fact with a question mark at the end does not constitute a a proper question. Just saying.

[Zealot]

I 'm not getting what the question is. Could you pose one please. A statement of fact with a question mark at the end does not constitute a a proper question. Just saying.

I think he is asking if people join, or stay in, a religion because of the community aspect it provides for.

I would say this is true. In fact, quite recently a friend invited me to church and, since I had nothing better to do, I went along. Everyone at this church was so friendly to me that I found it quite enjoyable (even though I'm a very strong Atheist) and the atmosphere was, overall, something you don't get to experience in bourgeois society. I think this sort of atmosphere should also be created and resurrected in a Socialist society, without all the religious baggage.

[dodger]

I know People who join a Religion or stay in a Religion to have a social life make friends and to have a sense of community and group identity what can be done to get People to understand that we as Humans don't need Religion for any of these things ? I understand Humans desire a sense of family community identity and friends and a social life.

Richard Dawkins - "Muslim" as a cultural label

Uploaded by DENBT1 (http://www.youtube.com/user/DENBT1) on Jul 24, 2009
Richard Dawkins - "Muslim" as a cultural label

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m0ci8y4m38

Very true...along with te best home-made cakes. Dodger never passes a church bazaar without loading up.Especially the villages. Good source of clothing, Harris Tweed jacket £5-"the late colonel's favourite,!" Kitting out a home silly to buy new, if money tight, silly. All your needs, there, for a song. I don't get there early, too frenetic. Women singularly or en masse terrify me. Non more so than at a Sale or bazaar. Last days of Rome, just before the Lombards,Visigoths entered.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I know People who join a Religion or stay in a Religion to have a social life make friends and to have a sense of community and group identity what can be done to get People to understand that we as Humans don't need Religion for any of these things ? I understand Humans desire a sense of family community identity and friends and a social life.

Richard Dawkins - "Muslim" as a cultural label

Uploaded by DENBT1 (http://www.youtube.com/user/DENBT1) on Jul 24, 2009
Richard Dawkins - "Muslim" as a cultural label

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m0ci8y4m38I think this is part of what non-religious people tend to overlook regarding why people are religious - leading people to think religious believers are kooks or dupes or whatnot. I disagree that it's cultural identity or sense of community in that way though. In rural areas this may be true because there are little other outlets and so church or mosque life is the social life of the local community. But in most modern settings, "community" is much more material. For immigrants, it's a place where people can safely gather among people who share their language and are probably more or less in a similar class and social situation. The black church in the US has long been the one place where blacks were free to express political ideas or anger at injustice without fear of reprisals (as much as open political organizing anyway). Even for evangelicals - the church provides a network of people, it provides a community for people who live autonomous and closed-off lives in suburbs, it provides a source of charity if you loose your job in a country that doesn't help people much in that position.

So, I think if you look at the community religion provides in this materialist way, then it's clear that (to me anyway) that as people take control over their own lives and organize to change society in their interests (even short of a revolution) then people won't need to turn to these insular shelters from a hostile or uncontrollable and alienating society at large, but can actually engage in that society and rely on their own power (rather than a higher power or a privatized form of religious community) to meet the needs that religion might currently provide for.

[tradeunionsupporter]

Many ethnic groups and immigrants look to religion for community the Jews look at Judaism as a part of their ethnic identity and many Greek Orthodox Christians may look at Greek Orthodox Christianity as a part of their ethnic identity as the Italian Americans do with the Roman Catholic Church many Irish Americans call themselves Irish Catholics and many Black People in America or African Americans are very religious many Black People are Christians Muslims even Jews but there are Black Atheists. Many Arabs/Arab Nationalists may look to Islam and being Muslim as a part of their ethnic identity I know Islam is not a race or a ethnic group neither is Christianity but Judaism/Jews are.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Many ethnic groups and immigrants look to religion for community the Jews look at Judaism as a part of their ethnic identity and many Greek Orthodox Christians may look at Greek Orthodox Christianity as a part of their ethnic identity as the Italian Americans do with the Roman Catholic Church many Irish Americans call themselves Irish Catholics and many Black People in America or African Americans are very religious many Black People are Christians Muslims even Jews but there are Black Atheists. Many Arabs/Arab Nationalists may look to Islam and being Muslim as a part of their ethnic identity I know Islam is not a race or a ethnic group neither is Christianity but Judaism/Jews are.

Maybe this is just impressionistic and anecdotal, but in my family, the immigrant grandparents who all lived in catholic working class neighborhoods together are very involved in church life and in my generation everyone is either an atheist or was non-practicing until they were converted to some evangelical church. Of Jewish people I've known, almost all have been non-practicing and had similar sort of working class low-suburban backgrounds of me an my non-practicing catholic relatives. So even when there is more of an ethnic or cultural connection (I'd say even as an atheist, I still consider myself sort of catholic in background whereas non-practicing protestants are just nothing :lol:) I think there needs to be a sort of organic material community to really draw people to that religion.

Evangelicalism has been sucessful, in part, I think by constructing a new sort of community for their followers and this is why I think it's found a lot of success in more spread out rural areas without any secular cultural center and suburban communities where the only secular common areas are capitalist shopping areas and whatnot - so the mega church creates a kind of sanctuary from an alienating secular community. This insularity is problematic even when it isn't attacked to a reactionary political agenda as most evangelical churches have been, but I think this community is partly the draw.