This week: Finding Community Edited by: Jeff  
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"Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief."
— C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of the regular editors of the official Spiritual Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 400 newsletters across the site in that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me directly or submit feedback in the comment box at the bottom of this newsletter.
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Finding Community
A lot has been written about the decline of the church, especially in Western society. People are less likely to be religious than ever before, and even those who consider themselves religious attend services infrequently at best. By some measurements, less than 40% of people in the United States currently attend church more than once a month, and only about half that number (20$) attend churches weekly. The average person among those who consider themselves churchgoing religious people is about 1.5 times per month (and even less frequent among people who don't consider themselves regular church attenders at all). Many religious traditions have leaned into the "individual pursuit" of one's own spiritual journey.
Not only is this an issue of faith, it's also one of community. For centuries, many people developed a sense of community based around their faith. The people they went to church with were their friends and neighbors. It's often where young people would meet their significant other. A decline in church attendance is one of my factors in the increasing "epidemic of loneliness" right now. Other contributing factors include social media, the remote work (and/or the increasing isolation of certain jobs), etc. Which is not to say any of those things are inherently bad; just that they are possible contributing factors to the loneliness and isolation that many people feel, and obstacles to meeting new people if you're interested in a relationship.
I was listening to a podcast about this phenomenon recently, and the interviewee gave a broad example about how, thirty years ago, many people had an easier time making friends because maybe you belonged to a church, you'd talk with other kids on the bus ride home, you'd meet someone while standing in line at the grocery store, or attending some kind of community function, you'd have a group of coworkers in the same office who you could explore romantic relationships with, or could be a point of connection to a romantic relationship (i.e., someone setting you up with their friend, sibling, or other relation) etc.
Contrast that with today, where maybe you don't go to church at all... or you go maybe once or twice a month and thus never really get to know anyone there. If you're a kid, your parent probably drives you to and from school. You don't meet anyone at the grocery store because you've got your headphones on and/or you're looking at your smartphone while you wait in line at the pharmacy. Community groups are chronically underfunded these days, so many towns don't have regular events to attend, and because your job is partially remote (or even just diversified across multiple offices/regions), the people who you interact with at work probably don't know you on a personal level the way everyone working out of the same office used to a few decades ago.
My purpose in writing this newsletter isn't to decry all the ways in which the modern world is terrible; it's merely to point out that - for better or worse - community isn't as easy to come by as it used to be. Community used to be something that was just kind of a natural byproduct of the way we lived our lives, and in a world that seems increasingly introspective and inwardly focused, it's something that needs to be pursued with more intentionality today. Because community is important. We all need community to some extent, and - with very, very few exceptions - we weren't meant to live lives of isolation and complete independence from others in the world around us.
If you consider yourself a member of a spiritual tradition who isn't currently in community with others, it might be worth looking into what it would mean to get plugged into a community of fellow believers. If you don't consider yourself spiritual, aren't looking for a spiritual community, or your spiritual tradition isn't conducive to community, it might be worth looking into what other types of community are available to you. Even if it's an online group, converging with like-minded people around an interest, hobby, or belief can really help alleviate some of the anxiety and negative effects that are proven to be the result of loneliness and isolation.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "Blogocentric Formulations"
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Feedback from "Spiritual Newsletter (February 19, 2025)" about Lent approaching:
In Islam and Bahá'í there's a month of fasting sunrise to sunset. The Islamic fast is based on a lunar calendar and changes year to year. The Bahá'í fast is on a solar calendar, differing only by a day or two. This year: evening of Fri, Feb 28, 2025 – Wed, Mar 19, 2025. It's in preparation for the New Year, March 20th. It frequently overlaps Lent.
— Kåre เลียม Enga 
I will be traveling during Lent. I don't think I will have the will to give up anything for the time of my travels. I'm doing my best to live a healthy life with a sensible diet and lots of exercise when I'm at home. When I travel, I want to reap the rewards of that and just have fun with the local specialty foods, spirits, music, and everything else.
— Annette 
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Spiritual: March 19, 2025 Issue [#13043]
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