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There is no question that religion divides and segregates people. That is, after all, part of the purpose of religion.

There is a tendency in our culture today to think that segregation on a religious basis is a bad thing. After all, we are taught that we should all come together, that we are in the process of building one world, that we need to put aside the things that divide us and build on the things that unite us.

However, it is not necessarily a bad thing to be divided by religion. My faith gives me an identity I would not otherwise have. I can identify myself as a believer in whatever religion I have chosen to embrace. This identity is important to me because it does separate me from most of the rest of the world. I am not just like everyone else. I am unique. I am different. My faith is one of several things that make me to be me.

It is impossible, even today with technology that makes it theoretically possible for me to communicate instantly with anyone in the world, to actually feel kinship with every person living on earth. The number of people I actually know compared to the number of people who are alive is infinitesimally small. A faith community on a local level gives me some things the world cannot - a sense of belonging, a common purpose with others with whom I have a face-to-face relationship, and the ability to know others and be known by others. This makes it possible for me to find acceptance in a small group which I cannot find in the larger world.

My faith community also provides me with opportunities to serve other people. I cannot personally know of all the needs of all the people in the world, and even if I could know these needs I would be powerless to do anything about them. But locally, in my faith community, I can know individual needs and I can do something to help meet those needs. When one of us is facing a health issue, the rest of us can surround that one with love, prayer, and encouragement. When one of us has financial needs, the rest of us can assist. I can be a part of helping people solve their problems in a small, local faith community where I cannot do that as well in the world.

Religion has been unfairly given a bad name in the troubled times in which we live, but we need to remember that the people who conceived the terrible events of 9/11 were not representatives of the vast majority of religious people in the world. The rest of the religious world should not be painted with so broad a brush. It is true that religion divides us. But it is also true that division can be a good thing when it provides us with a local body with which we can identify, fellowship and serve. I am different from others, and I am glad to be so.

Learn more about this author, Tom Parsons.
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