Religion = Social Club?

I had a conversation with one of my girlfriends not too long ago. She is a highly intelligent woman, she has studied and dissected most religions out there. I can go to her and ask her questions about most anything, religion included, and she'll recite answers like a textbook. I'll then ask her what she believes. She always responds objectively, with logic, but also with her heart. She never attempts to persuade, nor does she slam me if my beliefs differ from hers. It's an exchanging of thoughts, not judgments. I value friendships like that.

My friend, she is Mormon. She was raised Mormon, but like I said, she has explored most other religions and returned to Mormonism. I asked her if she believed all that they believe. She replied that she did not. I thought about that for a moment. Then I asked her why it was that she has embraced them as a lifestyle.

Her response was that Mormons take care of their own. She has a 6 year old granddaughter that she is raising as a single "grand"mom. She felt they offered social opportunities for her granddaughter that no other religions/churches offered. It is not unusual for me to visit her and she is entertaining some of the youth who are out on their missions, or her bishop is visiting or one of her church friends stopped by for a brief moment of conversation.

One of the rules is that a male church member cannot be alone inside the home with a non-relative female member. Just an interesting side note.

It was just an interesting realization for me to have. I'm not searching for that kind of interaction, in fact, I would likely find it overwhelming. But, I guess some folks use the church as a social gateway?