As we go about our lives in these days and times, we look and see a division between people. More than a month ago, terrorists attacked our nation, and now, more than ever, we need spiritual guidance. Instead, we have attacked each other as a people, and burned religious edifices. We have cast down other belief systems and have been conditioned to think that our religion is the one true religion. How can it be that we have so much in common in the way in which we worship and praise, but there is so much hatred separating us? Is it quite possible that there is not really a great divide in world religions at all, but it is the human psyche that stifles our understandings? There is a divide in world religions and spiritual traditions, however it is not a "great- one. The divide this paper and presentation will speak of is one that is of the physical, dealing with religious structure, deviations, misconceptions, and practices. It is increasingly accepted that religion plays an important role in many conflicts throughout the world. However, it is not clear on what problems come about from religion. One point is the unwillingness to conform to the new world, as Ambassador Mohammad Masjed Jame`i points out in an interview on Christian and Islamic relations. For that matter, why should anyone be made to conform to an ever-changing world? The divide is not in these religions and traditions, but it is in the human race. .
One of the most talked about and most important issues in World History and all over the world, is religion: not just religion, but the unreal concept of a world religion. Before the oneness of religions, if any, can be discussed, we must define and understand the concept of religion and discuss its purpose. Religion in it's rawest and most basic form is a set of guidelines, rules, or beliefs to live by and practice. In fact the Merriam-Webster Dictionary define it very similar by calling it, "a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.