dont you wish there was more of a community for atheists? [Spirituality & Religion]

@Olivine A high percentage of the effort that churches put into 'doing things to serve the community’ is actually oriented towards self-aggrandisement and proselytising.

Rice-bowl christianity is legendary.

@newjaninev2 Trust me, I'm well aware of that. There are churches that do real work to help people in need, though. Whatever their motive may be, they do do real good in the world. I ate plenty of meals and wore plenty of clothes growing up that came from church-run charities.

Now I'm not saying I think religion is overall good. I honestly believe the world would be a better place without religion. I'm just saying I would love to be involved in a group that is basically the good parts of a decent church without the religious dogma and everything that comes with it.

@Olivine You might explore secular humanism. Neither a church nor a religion, but certainly deeply concerned with the philosophical aspects of life, and improving the lot of our fellow humans.

From the Humanist International webpage: “Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance that affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. Humanism stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethics based on human and other natural values in a spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. Humanism is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.”

[i](The Minimum Statement on Humanism)[/i]

They’re at: https://humanists.international/what-is-humanism/

@newjaninev2 There was this homeless shelter I tried staying at. I wasn't technically homeless (it didn't involve anything personal why I was there) but long story short, this homeless shelter demanded that you attend prayer services twice a day and if you miss even one, you're out on the streets. I looked up this homeless shelter maybe a year later and there were reviews that said the sermons were very anti gay and demeaning, some of the preachers are not nice and they run it like a prison.

I'm glad I listened to my inner voice on that one, they wanted my phone and everything.

@SatanBurger Hm... taking advantage of people who are down on their luck to indoctrinate and control them... sounds pretty cult-like to me. Definitely scummy.

@SatanBurger Yes, classic rice-bowl christianity.

@Olivine It was a kind of weird Christian trap house which is what it was. You see, those homeless people had been there for 7 years or more. You can stay there indefinitely as long as you go to prayer services with the only catch is that you never miss one.

Here's the kicker though...

I asked at the time if I could go to a prayer meeting (even though I don't believe in it) in the evening instead of the morning because it would give me a chance to look for a job and they told me absolutely not.

Then I asked if they at least helped me look for a job, thinking they may have some services or something, they kind of laughed at me and told me not in the least. That's when I got really mad and yelled at them, I decided to get my stuff back and that I was better off without them.

@newjaninev2 I've learned a new term.

@SatanBurger
I had the same experience at a homeless shelter. Mandatory religious services; and they took your phone so you couldn't take photos of how dirty it was. The shelter was conducted pretty much like a prison. We found out they were receiving government grants and asked them how they believed the ACLU would view their mandatory chapel services.
The chapel services became optional

@SatanBurger Homeless shelters revenue poor, homeless people. Those shelters provide a good income for the people who own them and their employees. They have a vested interest in keeping the poor in poverty

@CookieLuvsBunny Wow good job on changing policies, I wish I had done that but I wasn't thinking about it because I was so mad at the time, I just felt powerless.

This homeless shelter also took your phone at night, I didn't trust it. I looked up the reviews later and there were a lot of people leaving reviews about their shady sermons and they also get paid by the Government.

When I looked it up later on Google, it turns out there's this huge problem with homeless shelters and exploitation like that. This is fairly common.

@CookieLuvsBunny Just like prisons have a vested interest as well, our society is very corrupt.