As somebody who tried to find a community with religious adherence, I can sadly report making friends in that environment is equally difficult as it is in the real world, you still have to impress people, adopt their vocabulary, etc.
It can certainly be difficult regardless of whether or not there is a defined place, but the benefits of a repeated time and place for events, much like sports bars, is what I was getting at. In a sports bar you would still need to support the local team and learn the lingo to impress people, but that doesn't mean it's easy.