I like this. I notice you don’t mention religion in this post, but I think one of the things religions do really well is try to provide access to all three of a scene, a clique, and a team at the same time (though I wouldn’t have known to put it this way before reading your post!).
Why I say this:
A “church” (a term I’m using loosely here to mean both the place in which people practice a religion, the people who practice that religion in that place, and the organizational entity which organizes these two and interfaces with the secular legal system) is at its most basic level a team: some people come together to make religion practice happen at a specific place and time.
It’s also a source of cliques. A church if often too large for all its members to be in a single clique, but it creates an environment with shared experiences upon which cliques can form (and formation is often aided by participation in the team aspect of a church).
A church is a scene in that it’s part of the larger goal of the religion. People often first join a church because they want to be part of the scene, and know nothing about the clique or team aspect. They then get to be part of the collective process of figuring out how to practice the religion in the modern world (which may or may not include things like evangelizing).
I’ve previously made a case that rationalists should be more religious, and being able to talk in more detailed terms about what the community benefits offered by religions are is helpful!
I like this. I notice you don’t mention religion in this post, but I think one of the things religions do really well is try to provide access to all three of a scene, a clique, and a team at the same time (though I wouldn’t have known to put it this way before reading your post!).
Why I say this:
A “church” (a term I’m using loosely here to mean both the place in which people practice a religion, the people who practice that religion in that place, and the organizational entity which organizes these two and interfaces with the secular legal system) is at its most basic level a team: some people come together to make religion practice happen at a specific place and time.
It’s also a source of cliques. A church if often too large for all its members to be in a single clique, but it creates an environment with shared experiences upon which cliques can form (and formation is often aided by participation in the team aspect of a church).
A church is a scene in that it’s part of the larger goal of the religion. People often first join a church because they want to be part of the scene, and know nothing about the clique or team aspect. They then get to be part of the collective process of figuring out how to practice the religion in the modern world (which may or may not include things like evangelizing).
I’ve previously made a case that rationalists should be more religious, and being able to talk in more detailed terms about what the community benefits offered by religions are is helpful!