by Darren Deojee

Created on: November 10, 2009   Last Updated: November 15, 2009

Religion comes from the latin 'religare', meaning 'to bring together' or 'to bind together'. For a religion to fulfil this root meaning of religion, the 'bringing/binding' together should be two-fold: both bringing people together, and bringing us, individually, together with the divine within us.

This is a shared theme common to all mass religions: that we are divine, and that we live in an environment and universe of divine origin, and also of divine composition.

This means the practising of the system of a given religion should reap the result of this 'bringing together' effect - both as a group and in our inner communion.

This definition, however, does not bode well for the modern idea of established religion since none of them can truly claim 'to bring together' without dogma, without 'conversion,' without an exclusion of value of the belief or practises of other religions. All religions require an element of each of these and therefore immediately exclude themselves from a true and pure idea of a 'religion for our species,' or a 'bringing together of our species.'

In complete contrast to 'religare,' many would argue that modern mainstream religion has accomplished the opposite of the root meaning - that it has created separation and distinction. Indeed, events in the world and the history of the behaviour of the religions in history as they sought to achieve the 'second fold' of 'bringing us all together' would add much weight to this argument.

Perhaps this is why they have become increasingly ostracised by modern independent, autonomous, thoughtful and considerate individuals who seek a thoughtful, reasoned, non-dogmatic, integrated life with those around them, regardless of practice or belief. The sectarianism between branches of traditional religions, or their (some of them) apathy or self-ostracisation or non-participation in society increasingly alienate them to the modern independent, yet curious, mind.

The modern idea of religion has been tainted by the mass religions where religion has come to mean the communion of people in common belief/practise, usually involving an archetype, who may or may not meet regularly to share, express and study that belief, but this is exclusive within their group. The belief itself does not 'bring together', but the proponents of the belief gather people in shared services or worship/practice sessions.

Many systems advocate practises which do indeed bring one closer to the divine within - there are many routes to

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>