I don’t feel that our society is atomized or individualistic, but that’s going to depend on what kind of life you live. Standard advice is to join clubs or volunteer, and after a month or 6 months at any given place, sit down and think about whether it’s helping you achieve the social goals that you want to achieve. If it’s not, walk away.

What have you tried so far?

I decided to volunteer at the local railway museum, which then introduced me to the local model railway group, and now I am part of both and meeting many more people aswell. Both for getting out of the house, and meeting new people, it has been awesome not to mention the fun.

Find an activity you would like to do, preferably with people involved, and put yourself out there. Join a club that pertains to an interest. All good ways definitely.

Local ttrpg store

Get involved with something that requires a community.

Sounds stupid, but there’s plenty of things that require groups of people to be possible. Community sports, political activism, board games and cards, etc. typically have easy to join communities created for the express purporse of doing the one thing.

The core is basically this.

1. Go where the humans are. Do so on a regular basis. It doesn’t really matter where, so long as it’s a place where a) socialization is not actively discouraged, and b) people are likely to show up more than once.
2. Talk to as many humans as possible until you find humans you click with.
3. Bring other people into the fold as you meet them.

There are environments that make this easier - hobby groups, certain ‘scenes’ in your area (music, art, etc.), volunteer organizations, etc. - but you can start the work pretty much anywhere humans congregate.

Are there any hobbiest groups re: digital art or adjacent activities in your area (zine making socials always sounded pretty fun)? Is there something you’ve always wanted to try that’s on offer as a group event? Start there, talk to the humans, show up more than once and there’s a good chance you’ll be off to a good start.

…said the kettle.

Like u/NeoNachtwaechter rightfully said:

Society, community… these are abstract terms. You cannot talk to them. The cannot love you.

Life happens when you meet people (not abstractions).

So, when you write:

Preferably in real life and without religion or alcohol.

Don’t see anything personal in the following remark (I don’t smoke and don’t drink, I quit both many decades ago, and I don’t give a flying fuck about religion myself) but you can’t expect to meet people that fit your expectations.

Life does not work like a dating app (luckily).

You will meet people, a few of them you will appreciate more than many, many others. All of them, even the ‘nicest’ ones, will still annoy you one way or another. Like you will annoy them, or like I do. We all.

My spouse and I have been together for 25 years and counting, we’re glad to be together but I can assure you we also both have traits or habits the other don’t like at all, and that’s fine. My best friend and I have been friends for well over 40 years and we’re at the complete opposite politically speaking, we always have been. Like we never agreed and we never will. We’re fine with our lifelong disagreements because we have many other common interests (and he is a very interesting guy even if his politics are shit ;)

So, the first thing I would suggest would be to accept that people will not be what you want them to be, or how you want them to be.

And then to let things happen, or not happen. That’s my second advice: be ok with nothing happening or with failing when trying to make them happen. Most of the time meeting people won’t go anywhere and that’s to be expected. Don’t give up, keep on meeting people and spend some time with them.

I know those advice may sound a bit… generalist but you did not share a lot of context yourself to give you a more specific answer either. And, generalist or not, those are still two advice I follow myself.

Here’s some really good advice about finding community.

If you’re physically able, go somewhere people are willing to teach you something :) Try a climbing gym.

The first hurdle will be working up the courage to ask for advice (on a route, on equipment, about an event) and the next will be showing up often enough that you’re a recognizable part of the community.

Pretending you enjoy normie stuff like star wars or Axe throwing.

In the meantime !dull_mens_club@lemmy.world

I once went to a woodworking store to get supplies for one of my brief ADHD hobbies, and the guy there mentioned that they have classes and there were some carvings on display that people made. It sounded like a nice, small group of people and if I wasn’t so lazy and socially anxious I might’ve enjoyed joining.

Meetup has helped - especially around RPGs and board games. Having a weekly group of friends meeting up with a shared topic helps.

Political activism for me personally

Meet up has a lot of groups with a variety of activities. You can find hiking, biking, swimming, reading, knitting, quilting, art of various forms, board game, DND, video game, canoeing, kayaking, trivia night, yoga, meditation, foodie, singles, couples, and ither groups to be part of.