Whether we are religious or not it can be helpful to live in a community that honors our art, our quest for meaning and our desire to make this a better world.
Human beings are social animals. Our emotions can be confusing to us if we do not share them with others. Communities of art have often been helpful in the flowering of creativity. To have an oasis where we do not have to defend ourselves can be very helpful in learning to hear and sing our own song.
Religion has traditionally had rituals of individuation and bonding, of healing and transformation, and of sharing gratitude and grief. Even if one leaves traditional religion, it can still be helpful to find a community of art.
It can also be helpful to seek out a safe place to learn and grow with others. In a community of meaning one can ask the deep questions of life without having others rush to provide answers. After our community has listened and honored our questions and our fledgling insights, it can also be helpful to hear other insights and points of view. When ancient or modern wisdom texts are understood as cosmic poetry (not science or history) they can be a wonderful way of widening and deepening our perception.
Finally, finding communities of activism can be very helpful in responding to the needs of the world. We cannot give money to every cause or take in every needy person. In community we can welcome the stranger without running every risk and carrying every weight alone. Prophetic communities can help us live as change agents and models of what the world could be.
Through art and activism communities can help us live out on a small scale what we hope the world might be for everyone. Again, whether we are religious or not, it can be helpful to live in a community that honors our art, our quest for meaning and our activism.