Does Something or Somethings Replace the Church in Society

A couple of decades ago there was a much discussed book, Bowling Alone. It included a lot of questionnaire data on how much people interacted with each other. The groups I was involved with at the time treated to book as a very important work addressing what was thought to be an important problem, loneliness or spending too much time alone. I bought and read the book and was not impressed. It had was seemed to me arbitrary bits of data that were mostly meaningless. For example, it said "community" among a group of friends was better if they gathered at a locally owned cafe than if they gathered at a chain like McDonalds. 

Now other sociologists are talking about being alone and that it implies something less happy than being with people. Reference to declining church membership is noted as one reason people do not interact with others as much today as they did in the past. The authors admit nothing much can be done about church membership because it requires beliefs that are becoming less and less common. I can't imagine anyone joining a church, sitting through sermons they do not agree with and chatting with people who believe odd things because "society needs more interaction between people." That is not going to happen.

The link authors suggest that if religion is not your thing you join some other group that does interest you. That is a good idea for people who want more interaction. But plenty of people enjoy their own company more than spending time with others. It seems to me there is an over generalization that face to face visits are an essential part of a full life. If this is a problem, the most unlikely solution is church.