Expanding Circles Of Identity
Religion seeks to give a sense of meaning and direction to human existence, providing us with understanding of who and what we are. Accordingly, it is inextricably bound up with the different components of our human identity - as individuals, spouses, members of families, communities and nations.
These are the expanding circles of our human identity, each of which has its place and value. We ignore these different elements of our make-up at our peril. Indeed, sociological analysis indicates that much of the problems of alienation and disorientation within modern society are the result of a loss of traditional components of human identity.
These circles of human identity should spiral outwards from the smaller spheres such as family, through the larger, such as community and nation; to ultimately embrace the widest circles uniting all people in universal human solidarity. However, when these smaller spheres perceive themselves as threatened, physically or psychologically, the opposite happens. They do not open out towards wider circles of human identity, but close themselves off from others, isolating themselves in order to protect the component of identity that is perceived as threatened. Under such circumstances, religion all too often becomes part and parcel of that insularity, even nurturing and exacerbating it.
In order to free communities from fears and suspicions that isolate them from others, we have not only to address their physical security, but also to counteract misrepresentations, bigotry and stereotypes that make up barriers of suspicion and hostility that alienate one community from another. Because religion is so profoundly bound up with all aspects of human identity, inter-religious understanding is crucial to the process of breaking down prejudicial barriers and for generating mutual respect and trust.
As we become more and more interdependent upon one another to ensure a sustainable ecosystem for our common future, the need to comprehend and respect one another becomes all the more acute. Religion is central to our communities' identities and ethos; therefore East-West inter-religious understanding is central to this imperative.
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