I do think there’s a special thing about church that is this bigger than yourself experience
I’m pretty sure that’s only the case if you’re a believer. And, in general, people who aren’t believers don’t go to church, so you’re selecting for a group of people who want to believe in something bigger than themselves.
But that’s the feeling that really bound people together when church was better attended, and that’s the feeling that’s so difficult to recreate in a secular way. Without that feeling it’s just a social club. Which isn’t bad thing, but it’s not “church without religion”.
I’m pretty sure that’s only the case if you’re a believer. And, in general, people who aren’t believers don’t go to church, so you’re selecting for a group of people who want to believe in something bigger than themselves.
But that’s the feeling that really bound people together when church was better attended, and that’s the feeling that’s so difficult to recreate in a secular way. Without that feeling it’s just a social club. Which isn’t bad thing, but it’s not “church without religion”.