Religious Unity
By Michael Boyajian
To perpetuate my world unity and concurrent peace beliefs I had been searching for common denominators that would unify all the world’s religions. The nearest I came was to identify that all seemed to espouse doing right. In some cases I discovered a denominator between a few different religions but no pattern of unity throughout.
It was not until I read Huston Smith’s tract on Confucianism, in his book The World’s Religions, that I hit upon an idea. The answer to unity was not in finding a common denominator. Unity rested with the Chinese practice of syncretizing.
Around the world most religions are exclusive and competitive with one another. The Chinese however believe that one can believe in many different religions at the same time. Many Chinese believe in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism throughout different parts of their lives.
To expand on this one need only build their own syncretization of religious beliefs. You pick and choose from each religion what you find inspiring and to take it a step further than the Chinese you create a singular hybrid religion for yourself.
For instance, from Hinduism I believe that there is no beginning and one must have an ability to adapt one’s beliefs to changing circumstances. From Buddhism I believe that you are awakened when enlightened and it takes a village to become awakened. From Native American and Wiccan beliefs I believe in the power of nature. From Christianity I believe in love and forgiveness. From Judaism I believe in the grandeur and frailty of humans. From Islam I believe in joyful peace and mercy and the fact that Muhammad’s first convert was a woman, his wife. From Confucianism I believe in perpetual self cultivation. And from Taoism I believe that there is an energy in the universe.
Now this is only a simple glossary overview and one can delve deeper into each religion, and those not mentioned here, and choose more components to syncretize until they have a complete religion of their own that fits their individual needs.
Rather than confine oneself to the strict adherence to any one religion you therefore can maximize your spiritual knowledge and experience. You blend different beliefs into one in order to paint a beautiful mosaic of life.
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