Canvas8 reports are available to Canvas8 subscribers. What follows is an adaptation of the research; the full report can be accessed via the View Report link.
Abstract
Before the workday starts, a crowd is dancing, completely sober. Across town, strangers sit in a circle answering prompts about their lives. In a community hall, a choir that never holds auditions is warming up. Americans are leaving organized religion, but the need for what it gave them remains: a weekly ritual, a reason to show up, and people who notice when you don't. As loneliness becomes a public health crisis, those needs are being met in saunas, morning raves and community choirs, secular congregations built around song, sweat and breath.
The research, co-authored with M.E. Knox of Pallas Reports, draws on interviews with Radha Agrawal, CEO and co-founder of Daybreaker and the Belong Center, and Robbie Bent, co-founder of social wellness club Othership.
The findings
"The pandemic exposed and turbocharged an existing problem," Harvard psychologist Richard Weissbourd told The New York Times Magazine. 24% of people worldwide feel very or fairly lonely, and social isolation is linked to a 29% higher risk of premature death and a 50% higher risk of dementia.
28% of Americans now identify as atheist, agnostic or "nothing in particular," and only three in ten attend religious services regularly. Formal volunteering fell from 30% to 23.2% between 2019 and 2021. Secular alternatives are filling the gap. Sunday Assembly keeps the songs, talks and potlucks of church without the religion. Houston's Awakenings combines contemplative practice with social justice. The Belong Center runs guided "circles." "You learn different techniques for connection, rupture and repair," says Agrawal.
Choirs are moving out of churches and into community spaces. Minneapolis-St. Paul's Kith + Kin builds inclusive community through song, and Miami Sound Space welcomes anyone, no experience needed. Othership began during the pandemic as a free ice bath in Bent's Toronto backyard, moved into a neighborhood garage, and grew by word of mouth to more than 1,000 people. It now runs sauna, ice bath and breathwork "socials" in Toronto and New York. "It breaks down barriers and fosters connection," says Bent.
"Behavioral synchrony can lead to feelings of higher closeness and trust with the people we're in sync with," says UCLA associate professor of psychology Jamie Kerns. Ecstatic dance sessions ban shoes, talking, phones and alcohol. Daybreaker's sober morning raves have drawn almost a million people across 35 cities. "There are fewer clubs that people want to go to because they don't want to be drunk or hungover," says Agrawal.
What this means for brands
Brands can offer what congregations used to. That means a fixed time and a shared ritual people come back to, a first visit that asks for no audition, no experience and no drink, and something to do together, since moving, singing or breathing in sync draws people closer. Othership grew from a backyard ice bath to socials in Toronto and New York, and Daybreaker's sober morning raves now run in 35 cities, which shows how far the format can travel.
Canvas8 is a behavioural insights agency whose reports are used by brands and agencies worldwide. This page highlights key findings from the report; the full version is available to Canvas8 members.
Alice Sweitzer with M.E. Knox
