My latest article at MercatorNet expresses my enthusiasm and enjoyment of comparative religion, a subject close to my heart and part of my personal search for meaning for some twenty years:
Even when things seem irreconcilable, like the supposed atheism of Buddhism or a belief in reincarnation, understanding in depth the role these diverging beliefs play in the life of the believer can show the differences are not necessarily the obstacle they may seem.
…to see one’s own religious heritage as part of a universal search, love, and knowing of the divine in our lives gives it context and meaning beyond the narrow scope of how we were raised and the peculiarities of our immediate culture and society.
https://www.mercatornet.com/above/view/will-comparative-religion-save-the-world
Within the deeper understanding of many religions ..where often they are more in agreement than the understandings of many of their members who often are not very KNOWLEDGE about their OWN religion often scholars of comparative relgions can also lack spiritual depth
If we go looking for division there is even fierce disagreement within the smallest subsets of religious groups. But if we go looking for commonality it’s easy to find, typically in the experience of mystics and contemplatives.