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We can and do (many of us) realise that we are all one human nation. That can (and should) coexist peacefully with the knowledge that we all come from somewhere and we all have traditions and perspectives that can and should be honoured. There is no irreconcilable difference here of necessity...and if it exists de facto, then it is a humanly created obstacle (turning differences into biases or barriers) and is ultimately one that can be transcended or reconciled.
We can all "come as we are"...I don't think anyone has to leave who or what they are or where they came from behind. You can expand your heart and your perspective and realise that there are many paths to God. And that acknowledges a fundamental reality. We all need to find our own path. And without acknowledging our origins and our right to be as we are for who we are, how can ever accept others as they are?
I think the "answer" is not to remove all differences...diversity is a strength, after all...
Instead, it is to accept ourselves and then each other...accept the differences and honour and respect them. At the core, after all, we are all members of the human race. But we don't have to become generic in order to come to this place of tolerance. After all, who decides what we will or should be or look like if we all have to be or look alike?
Organised religion may be a barrier or a separator...or, it may not. The Truth can be found anywhere...and the depth and richness of tradition, of spirituality, of the variety of paths an individual may take cannot be confined by the term religion...
However, it's also true that the term religion and concept of religion is not one that we should denigrate...
In its highest sense, it is one with your spirituality. As with many things, it all depends on your perspective.
Peace,
7L
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