I'm not religious, but I don't see a lot of evidence of other forces filling that space. In part, it takes a lot of commitment (and resources) to do it well. Religious communities have been motivated, but I don't see other groups filling the void as they depart.
Yeah but I think the issue is the loss of tight knit communities, not that the churches are the only way.
I think they are simply the ones that survived the most in our current era of narcissism and consumerism because they were bigger to begin with.
I mean I live in an old fashioned, traditionnally poor gipsy neighborhood. Most people around here don't go to the church, but this is a tight knit community. As a stranger, and for good reasons[1], it took me a long time to be accepted as part of it, and in a sense I will never be completely part of it. However I have already been shown that my neighbors are ready to give me a hand when I need it and even that they are ready to fight for me had I been in a situation that required it, no question asked. Which is funny because these are the same people that initially tried to rob me!
[1] first and foremost because the presence of expats working remotely for big corps like me is one of the reason the rents are ever increasing and becoming out of reach to