I never missed a second of it. At 14 when l quit going l was so relieved knowing l never had to go again. ??????

I've read all the comments to this post, and I'd like to agree that most Christians that I know are fine upstanding people; although, I don't agree with the stories they believe to be true. I also find meditation to be a great help in regulating my thoughts and feelings concerning all aspects of life.

All the religious bs that you were tought will go away in time. I will some of it is still with me and wish I could rid of it. Hopefully it will some day in the very near future. I don't miss going to church or being a member of the baptist cult.

You might explore the Unitarian Universalists church. "They assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. As such, their congregations include many atheists, agnostics, and theists within their membership." [from Wikipedia] I am an atheist and although I have never attended or visited a Unitarian Universalists church, I occasionally consider doing so, if only for the socialializing and the opportunity to converse with others with different points of view. There is one in nearly every city throughout the world.

Human and Social Interaction seems to be the goal here. I found Social Media a new forum for that; on some levels. Cherishing the people around me that I find interesting (which is most of them) and going out as much as possible to meet new people has given me that new avenue. I started a running group for example and joined a cycling group.

You could a yacht club and go sailing, most racing is on Sundays. Good for companionship and a whole lot more fun than kneeling for an invisible man in the clouds

I miss it too, I grew up in the Church. While they have a few facts wrong, they do believe in loving your fellow man. Its been my experience that Christians for the most part are very good people.

I totally relate to that and have struggled a bit with the same issue. I have considered Humanist Society Meetings or even a Unitarian Universalist Church but my small town does not offer either and I don't have time for a long commute.

Religion has co-opted our need for community and companionship, that's why punishments like shunning and excommunication work so well. Alain be Botton has some interesting thoughts on our need for religion apart from some omnipotent administrator.

Hi Ninan, The very act of worshiping something, is totally demeaning . Worship only belongs to upstarts like the little fat guy in North Korea, or another bod like Jesus Christ.
Get together with your friends and enjoy the experience of " fellowship " with those who have earned it.

This might not be helpful to you but I talk to myself all the time when I'm alone... I think prayer is effective in the sense that the time is taken to verbalize an issue which helps you process it better and it makes finding a solution easier. Im going to break it into two types,

Praying alone: this helps you find a solution because it was you that you were talking to in the first place and whether your prayers are answered or not you accepted the end result because it was "god's" plan... In other words, just do what you can and accept what happens for what it is.

Praying for people while in front of them: this type of prayer is, in my opinion, a bit self gratifying, it's more for the pray'er rather than the pray'ee. Our brains reward us for praise and when you pray in front of people those people shower you with words of praise... It's an addiction.

I say just talk to yourself and answer yourself cuz answering yourself isn't crazy, thinking a magical being is listening and granting wishes is crazy.

Though... I might be crazy cuz

"crazy doesn't know they are crazy, that's why they are crazy." -- Jim Jeffries

You could try these [uua.org]

Holy Koolaid did an article on them