Is it bad to join the church for community?

[SarahH12]

I used to go to church quite regularly and three years ago I was confirmed as an adult. I have barely been in the past year though. I moved house and never really settled at the local church, then I moved again a couple of months ago and have only been to our local one a handful of times.

In the past year I've really started to doubt my faith and don't really know how I feel about it all. I do miss the sense of community though. I miss the friendship and community I had at the church I was confirmed in and if nothing else I'd like to have that again.

Would it be bad to go to church mainly for the community rather than any strong faith at the moment?

Of course not. Lots of people (maybe most??) go to Church for the Community. After all, we could study the bible at home, and we could certainly pray at home. There are radio services and TV services we could listen to or watch, and no doubt there are on line services we could listen to / watch, as well as podcasts etc.
However, most of us need to "belong" to a community, and many people get that from their Church.
You would be very welcome.
However, if you aren't getting what you need at one Church, then try another. There are many different types of Church around. Go where you receive the welcome and friendship you are looking for.

Yes absolutely what B4G said. But before you settle in too much I would just check you’re somewhere where doubts and questions are encouraged. Churches vary a lot on that score, and you probably wouldn’t want to get into a situation where you’re having to pretend to fit in. You will probably have a better experience both from the community and faith perspective if you are able talk openly about where you’re at with it all (which as you know will likely vary over time in the future as it has in the past).

Not bad at ALL but as someone else said, I’d try a few different ones and see where you feel like you might fit in best.

Yes, agree with Edd and BackforGood. Find somewhere where you're able to express faith and ask honest and direct questions without being shouted down. Most C of E churches are good for this and a lot of others are too, it's a case of trying them out. But it's absolutely fine to go for the community aspect. You'd be more than welcome in our church. We want to reach out to the community and develop community together. People are not excluded because of faith wobbles or even if they have no faith - everyone is somewhere on the journey, and we want to give space to travel it. I'm sure you could find somewhere welcoming.

You're also very welcome to chat about any wobbles and doubts here, and join in the community we have on the chat and prayer threads.

Sorry, that should say *express doubt, not faith, though they are two sides of a coin!!

It’s better than not joining a church for the community.

As long as you don’t start treating it as though that is all it’s supposed to be.

As long as you don’t start treating it as though that is all it’s supposed to be.

That's just it @DieAntword, I'm not sure there is anything more to it...

I don’t mean for you personally but at all. Like if you join the church committee and start campaigning to hold less religious events because “it puts people off” or whatever.