am at the initial stages of drafting the call. Let me be personal. For all of these reasons, I believe that religion has the potential to provide an alternative universe to that of political rancor and division. America remains ghettoized along ethnic lines that show up on Sunday morning, which remains (as Dr. King said) the most segregated hour of the week. Revivalist Protestants joined Quakers and Unitarians in fighting slavery in the nineteenth century; Jewish synagogues and Catholic parishes and Black Baptist congregations join hands in revitalizing cities today. One of the best things I’ve done, and you can do, as an entrepreneur that has online businesses (as well as more traditional, brick n mortar ones, too!) Whether such a book does or does not yet exist, one must note that shelves full of books do throw various lights on her larger concern. Etymologically, “religio” means that which binds together, so to say that religion builds strong communities is somewhat circular. How Does Religion Increase Family Cohesion? No partisan hacks. As I looked around at my relatives, who I’ve seen through the years in those pews, the church became more about us than any doctrines about the supernatural; our visits to this place marked the changes in our lives and our continued journeys together. Having a religion can help bring a vast community of people together. Families that are part of religious communities are found to have stronger ties among members. Yes, I mean in ‘real life’. Religion is supposed to unite Religion in itself does not divide. How important is religion to building strong communities? That’s why, when southern African Americans began fighting for their rights in the 1950s and 1960s, people of all races flocked south to share in the struggle. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our privacy and cookie policy. Instead, we’ve enjoyed relative harmony among Jews and Christians, Muslims and infidels, making ours the most spiritually diverse nation in the world. Interestingly, while religion was included in the first written set of laws, I believe most religious people these days would not look upon it as a “true” religion.. Discussions about the gendered experience of Buddhism, especially ... Get on the list to receive CRCC's email newsletter. –Dan McKanan is the Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Senior Lecturer in Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. These religious activists did not seek to impose their own particularities on the nation, but called the nation to honor its own claim that all people are “endowed by their Creator” with “unalienable Rights” to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”. The term "religion" translates as "to bind, to connect". As much as religious conflict dominates our public conversations, religion has long been a force for unity. We asked five students of religion how faith builds stronger communities. Unconventional forms of religion also play a role: many early labor organizers came from congregations of “freethinkers” who were bitterly critical of Christianity but still gained strength from weekly gatherings where they reflected together on the things that matter most. I don’t see that as a guarantee of success. Intellectually, I remain far removed from my Catholic upbringing, but there are still times when I am bound to other people by the Catholic Church – or, more accurately, Catholicism is used to illustrate our bond, to call our attention to the ties that we already have. The following is an excerpt of an article by Nalika Gajaweera published in the Journal of Global Buddhism. Nothing brings people together like festivals do. First, religion provides spiritual, social, psychological and often material support for individuals and families. We never talked about religion; Catholicism was just something that happened to us. After my father died, when I was five years old, the church was my extended family. –Gary Kowalski currently serves as interim minister to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe, New Mexico. People may have grown up Jewish or Catholic, but experiment with a wide range of alternative or New Age practices and don’t have a word to apply to themselves. Mark Whitlock talks to CNN about the the segregation of churches, American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute. Moreover, it can be a uniting force to help people find their way to a partner that shares their outlook and beliefs. Generally speaking, religion unifies those within the religious group but separates believers from the larger society, particularly from social groups that espouse a different worldview and lifestyle. They made communities and built cities, caused debates, and brought people together. The Arts Don’t Need New Audiences. It would be difficult to imagine any community in America without the presence of a variety of religious groups. To see religion die because our generation choses to be closed minded would be hypocritical. The first few centuries of the church brought together Jew and Gentile, men and women, rich and poor, slave and free. While many still hold that religion is essentially divisive, since 9/11 it has been clear that religion has been an overwhelmingly positive force to bring people from different backgrounds together … First, religion provides spiritual, social, psychological and often material support for individuals and families. With faith around the world like how does religion bring communities together do to help people find their way to partner! Symbols and patterns of behavior in cities puts them in a certain,!, they would not be religion life ’ help people find their to. 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