"World Needs A Global Religion", by Joe Rogaly, written for The Financial Times, distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, and republished by the New Haven Register, January 11, 1998.
"Christianity is a mature enterprise. It has survived for nearly 2,000 years. The question is, will it last out the next century? If it
does not, it could be because it has allowed itself to be broken up into rival institutions. The lesson is clear. It must merge or
bust. The same might be said of all organized religions, including Judaism ... and relative newcomers like Islam."
"... the number of people who say they have no religion has risen sharply during the past quarter-century. Everywhere, it seems,
willingness to attend services is less strong than the natural human desire for faith, certainty, and rules of behavior. We all know
why. The value of formal worship in public buildings is being blasted out of people's minds. The cult of the individualmarches in triumph across the globe, in lock-step behind science and capitalism ... The extended family is disintegrating.People are less likely to live close to one another in coherent sub-tribal groups ... Personal advancement is our drivingmotive. Enterprise, competition, self-reliance are the ruling precepts ... The selfish motive is uppermost. Pirates rule."
"Only a belief in the spiritual self can soften the effect of this counter-human revolution. Alas, the defenders of the spirit are
divided, squabbling among themselves, sulking in their tents ... Lacking cohesion, their strength, once irresistible, is draining
away. In such a situation, any prudent undertaking will try to restructure itself. The great religions must be amalgamated. A
series of takeovers is required. The breakup of Christianity should be reversed. The Church of Rome should join hands withthat of Constantinople. The rest -- Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists -- should be coaxed in."
"True believers in God, the soul, and a hereafter, would be wise to go further. A new planetary religious confederation, the spirit
of ecumenical endeavor, could match the globalization of material wealth-creation. Churches would sit alongside synagogues,
mosques, temples. The great faith systems of China and Japan would meet those originating in the Middle East and India ... we
need ways of rescuing religion ... Our generally shared set of beliefs determines our behavior. Capitalist predators can be good
Christians, Jews, Hindus ... So can politicians, civil servants, the white coats who rule our laboratories. We all need some form
of religion. Without it, we shall be reconstituted as androids."
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