No. There is a psychological challenge here, but it's that people often don't do things that they genuinely recognize will be good for them and improve their well being because doing those things are harder than the alternative. Think working out (or not eating all those doritos or ice cream), as well as all the various flavors of communitarianism from attending church to going out to dinner to joining a club.
I'm a huge fan of both TV and online discourse and activities, but even while I recognize that too much of those things is not good for me, I still overindulge in both to my detriment because it's psychologically easier. On the one hand, I definitely think it's wonderful that TV today is at least 1000x times better than what it was when I was growing up in 70s, but I also recognize the downside of the improvement in modern entertainment that can consumed alone is that I do so more than I should.
The idea that people's behavior tells you what they really value is obviously wrong.
The gap between stated and revealed preference is more often a measure of friction, and friction is something we can solve for. The revealed preference is not more true than the stated.
"nothing stops secular communitarians from matching the time commitment of suburban Catholics" Would the conclusion not be that indeed there are incredible barriers to the formation of a new religion that would voluntarily attract this demographic in the same way that Christianity did when took over the world with missionaries?
Many people I know in Israel go to bad Israeli singers' concert and sing bad Israeli sentimental songs in unison with a huge crowd, go to mass demonstrations and say slogans in unison, go to parties and move up and down with a crowd. They watch the news and TV shows about Israel, they serve in the military reserve units for months at a time, where they sleep and dine with many people together and sing morale songs, etc. When they go abroad they visit the Jewish quarter of whatever city. They have big family gatherings for many holidays each years, and some every week. Maybe it's just that you're American, but hey, there are tons of churches everywhere there, I am sure some people go.
No. There is a psychological challenge here, but it's that people often don't do things that they genuinely recognize will be good for them and improve their well being because doing those things are harder than the alternative. Think working out (or not eating all those doritos or ice cream), as well as all the various flavors of communitarianism from attending church to going out to dinner to joining a club.
I'm a huge fan of both TV and online discourse and activities, but even while I recognize that too much of those things is not good for me, I still overindulge in both to my detriment because it's psychologically easier. On the one hand, I definitely think it's wonderful that TV today is at least 1000x times better than what it was when I was growing up in 70s, but I also recognize the downside of the improvement in modern entertainment that can consumed alone is that I do so more than I should.
The idea that people's behavior tells you what they really value is obviously wrong.
Well, the idea that people's behavior tells you what they *say* (with apparent sincerity) really value is obviously wrong.
As Thomas Szasz aphorized: "There is no psychology; there is only biography and autobiography."
The gap between stated and revealed preference is more often a measure of friction, and friction is something we can solve for. The revealed preference is not more true than the stated.
Thank you for finally stating the obvious.
maybe your definition of community isn't broad enough
"nothing stops secular communitarians from matching the time commitment of suburban Catholics" Would the conclusion not be that indeed there are incredible barriers to the formation of a new religion that would voluntarily attract this demographic in the same way that Christianity did when took over the world with missionaries?
Many people I know in Israel go to bad Israeli singers' concert and sing bad Israeli sentimental songs in unison with a huge crowd, go to mass demonstrations and say slogans in unison, go to parties and move up and down with a crowd. They watch the news and TV shows about Israel, they serve in the military reserve units for months at a time, where they sleep and dine with many people together and sing morale songs, etc. When they go abroad they visit the Jewish quarter of whatever city. They have big family gatherings for many holidays each years, and some every week. Maybe it's just that you're American, but hey, there are tons of churches everywhere there, I am sure some people go.