The world is made more interesting and more beautiful because of our diversity and complexity. Unfortunately, this same diversity can also bring pain and estrangement. Families of the future need to know how to embrace and accept the special gifts and challenges that each individual member contributes to the whole. One of the subjects, besides politics, that can cause division, conflict, and even violence is religion. Because our world religions and philosophical traditions have grown out of particular times and cultures, there are many differences in both belief and practice.
What is remarkable is that there are also deep truths and ethical teachings that form what Huston Smith (the religious scholar who wrote the classic book, The World Religions in 1958) called “the forgotten truth” or the common vision of all religions. For those who want to learn more about what unites rather than divides us, Jeffrey Moses has written a wonderful book called Oneness: Great Principles Shared by All Religions. With a foreword written by the Dalai Lama, this resource outlines 65 principles that are common threads in world religions such as do no harm, speak the truth, honor the elderly, and blessed are the peacemakers. What a great way to educate ourselves and our children instead of stereotyping…
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