Religion offers nothing that we can't find outside of it. Faith in ourselves, worship of our community or environment if that's what you need, social support in our community. Perhaps if our general community was more supportive, encouraging and mutually protective we wouldn't need to imagine a god to provide it. That imaginary thing could not then be coopted to meet the purposes of predatory people or organisations

I get offended by people who think atheists aren't good people. I don't think you need religion, rituals or anything else to teach compassion, empathy and the differences between right and wrong.
Maybe psychopaths need the structure of religion and ritual to learn right from wrong as they don't feel compassion and empathy.

I connect with others through meaningful conversation; I have a morning ritual of meditation and exercise and when I eat chocolate I am transcended.

That's good enough for me.

As an atheist since age 13, I'm not missing a damn thing.

I chose rational thinking, not magical beliefs.

I was wiccan for a few years after leaving Christianity, I think my favorate thing was learning all the facinating mythology. Loved it, still do.

Though I got fatigue before I could skim through all the comments on just the first page, it's blaringly obvious to me that the touchiness of the subject requires a different framing of the question: 1) Find a more inclusive label than "Atheist" 2) "Incorporating some religious forms and traditions" is understandably a trigger for many. Same with "ritual". Focus instead on the aspects of connection & community. 3) And the word "transcendence" I think is problematic for many, conjuring ideas of "nebulous woo nonsense". But I am in favor of finding ways to acknowledge/celebrate those things in life (such as awe, wonder, mystery, love, compassion, art) which takes life out the dry and literal.

Yoga, Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies have rituals and no god. And, like Agnostics, Buddhists don't ask questions they couldn't possibly answer.

Good book. But I'm missing going to the pub...

There are some good ethics in the Bible, if we can overlook the mythology. The Sermon on the Mount is a good example. Perhaps the best ethical advice is to "Love your neighbor as yourself."

I saw this video just a few days after declaring myself an atheist, so I very much liked it. I was liking everything atheism related at that point. I was on a high from my newfound freedom. Thinking back on it now, I still think he has a point when it comes to art. These days, so much of so-called art is literally garbage. Religion has produced great art. However, it's not as if it ever had an exclusive hold on meaningful art, so we can certainly have greatness there again.

My sense is that little more planning is needed than a weekly meeting. All the pomp and circumstance of various institutions I feel mostly reinforces the bureaucracy ( omg! Even with spellcheck I couldn’t spell that)instead of having any beneficial effect on the practitioners. I have little to no respect for tradition or ritual. It seems to me they end up being practiced for their own sake.

A story I heard once involved a little girl asking her mother why she chopped off the end of the Christmas ham. “It’s how my mother did it” came through reply. The little girl walked into the living room and asked grandma why she did it. “Well that’s how my mother taught me to do it “ came the reply. Latter in the day while visiting great grandma in the nursing home the three generations of daughters asked her “how come we cut off the end of the Christmas ham”? After looking really confused great grandma’s expression changed to amusement. She said “ oh dearies, when I was young we couldn’t afford much and the only pan I had was kinda small so I chopped off the end of the ham so it would fit”
That’s my view on ritual and tradition. It’s true meaning is usually lost to time and often there’s no real reason left to follow it.

Jesus sandals. Those high heels are definitely killers.

It isn't an unreasonable question. Religion or religious experience has been an important component in human cultures going back as far back as we can peer and seemingly everywhere. Perhaps there is something about all that which could help us understand ourselves better? Maybe.

Personally I wouldn't emphasize the ritual/community aspect so much. I tend to see all established churches as being too rigid and instilling a follower-mentality on its membership. But transcendence means something quite apart from the supernatural or afterlife woo. I do think our society puts too much emphasis on living rationally. I find artistic pursuits to be transcending in a way, and when I was younger various physical pursuits had that effect. But just reading literature or poetry can also be transporting.

I couldn't get the video to play this time but I'm pretty sure have watched it before. (I do like me some TED talks.)

I agree with the Aussies. Atheists that need social connections can find them in ways other than an atheist organization. I also think that as we integrate into the human community and demonstrate our peace and happiness, we can become a beacon for reason to the rest of the world. I do need to emphasize though that judging and debating other people's religious choices will not make that happen.

Guided meditation on mindfulness, group discussions about beneficial life experiences and cognitive behavior changes for personal growth.

Y’all will need a pope and some cathedrals I suppose. Some sort of power hierarchy, priests and all that.

You’ll want some way to keep out apostates such as agnostics and spiritual types—some sort of iron-clad oath to adhere to your creed. God forbid that one of the members should start wondering about the ground of all being or thinking metaphysical thoughts about ultimate reality beyond the sense realm.

Join a theatre group, sports club, or anything where you will meet people with similar likes.

What are we missing? For myself, nothing. I get plenty of human connection through the ever changing rituals I go through with family and friends - enough to transcend my need for static rituals.

There is a need for people to get together and perform ceremonies of some type. I cannot think of a society where this does not happen.

Some people miss much because of their aversion to organized religions, while others reject everything associated with organized religions. I have accepted that many of the principles which religions promote are useful and functional to living a satisfying life.

But many religious leaders are hypocritically ignoring and often breaking their own written commandments. So i learned years ago to not 'throw the baby out with the bath water' when i evaluated anything in life. It's about finding the value in anything, even if i have to tweak my view of it to see what is with clear lenses.

Honesty, civility, humanity, truth, and respect are just 5 of the metaphorically articulated values described in most bibles i have read. If humans generally lived by these rules, the world would be a very different and probably a more welcoming place.

I have proven to myself, and others, that many of organized religion's principles can affect our lives in positive ways, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. I've never connected such values to religion, but i can't honesty claim that i invented the values i live by. LOL

In the context of the Universe, we're a very young and barely evolved race but if we don't learn, we'll probably go the way of other species which have become extinct when they couldn't evolve. This coronavirus pandemic is just such an opportunity for change and growth.

And one day historians, human or alien, will evaluate how we did. LOL

De Botton is a marvelous guy and a great thinker, his School of Life is a valuable resource. He seeks a better, softer way for human beings to act towards one another.

I think we can probably all do with some of the social structure and support churches offered, if only in theory in some cases. It is good to get together with like-minded people. Having said that, most of us have a really bad reaction to anything related to a church, or quasi-church. The fact that people are here, bickering endlessly about who is right, agnostics or atheists, as if we're opposing political parties, tells me nothing will ever come of De Botton's ideas.

"What aspects of religion could atheists beneficially adopt?"

The ten commandments would be good... Rituals and such? Why? They're many ways to connect and bond with others without turning to things found in religion.. Seems like a trap! Foot in the door kinda thing

I would agree that the churches have a big pull, in being able to provide a quiet sitting space and coffee shop on every high street.

I long ago outgrew any desire (NEED? I don't think so!) for any ritual.

Without any evidence to demonstrate the concept of transcendence is anything more then juvenile fairy tale, why would I waste my life distorting the beauty of reality with a desire for transcendence? If I am in the mood for fantasy I'd rather write fantasy or escape into a good book or movie then to pretend there actually is (or could be) a reality beyond (not part of) reality. Face and Palm.

As for connection, when I was young my parents forced me to attend church and church sponsored activities. I found little to no value associating with believers in "the faith" - - Yea, I figured out religion was BS when I was pretty young.

Religious traditions:
hmmm. Biggest tradition of religion and the foundation of religion is to use faith (belief without evidence) to establish a false definition of "Truth" demonstrable with evidence. I find such a tradition to be destructive on many levels so that would be a no.

Religious Forms: God/gods etc. and other science wo wo assertions. That would also be a no. I prefer reality. There really is a great deal of the real world that can be appreciated without superstition nonsense.

I do rather miss choir, band, orchestra, and theater (orchestra pit or on stage). None of these related to faith or religion Perhaps, if I make it through the pandemic alive, I may fire up the instruments or join a local theater, band or debate group.

And to answer your most common reply to those that actually answer your exact questions, Yes. I did watch this. Many months ago and I found no convincing argument that applies to me.