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FOUNDATIONALISM is a new world religion intended to unite all the religions of the world under one banner. It is based upon the belief that certain foundational principles underlie all religions, and that focus upon those aspects of our different religions will allow us to join together in a common faith that sees us as one people, united, and not separated by the different titles and rules that have resulted in so many different religions. |
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RELIGION is one of the things that unite us as human beings. We feel a kinship with those who share our belief systems, those who identify themselves as sharing the same faith. Unfortunately, just as it brings people together, religion also keeps us apart. Even worse, religion has been used as the excuse for perpetration of some of the worst atrocities and killing rampages known to humankind. It is the insistence that one religion reign pre-eminnent among the others that has spawned some of the most evil acts on the planet. But if the same foundational principles underlie all religions, it is the just the extraneous rules and names that keep us from recognizing each other's religion as our own. |
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SEPARATING THE RULES FROM THE PRINCIPLES will allow us to focus on what religion should be...the guidelines for living with godly principles. When we recognize each other as sharing the same beliefs, we will no longer have the need to impose our belief systems on others, because they are the same. The different names for religion that have evolved through time... Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and on.. serve only to identify the different rules adopted by those religions for their followers. The rules are represented by, among other things, different rituals. The rituals in themselves are not problematic. It is the insistence that one religion's rituals are the "correct" rituals, or the "right way" to honor God that causes problems. When we recognize the foundational principles of behaving in a Godly way as the true basis of religion, the different rules and rituals will become what they should be - - honoring of the old ways. It is the elevation of ritual form and practice over the foundation of religion that has worked to separate us. The uniting of all religion begins with a focus shift, away from form and toward foundation. |
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MAKING THE SHIFT from existing organized religion to Foundationalism is not something that will happen overnight. It may take a while before people are comfortable giving up the religious identifications they use. Those people can begin by simply adding the word Foundationalism to their current religious designation. They can be a Jewish Foundationalist. A Christian Foundationalist. Eventually, hopefully, the first part of the title will fall away and we will all be identifying ourselves simply as Foundationalists. We will recognize each other as sharing the same belief systems. Adoption of the "Foundationalism" identifier is the beginning. At a minimum, when we share the "foundationalist" identification we can focus on that "sameness" and not the differences involved in the "Christian" and "Jewish" and "Islamic" identifiers. |
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE BY ADOPTING FOUNDATIONALISM? The only thing you have to lose is the belief that your religion is "the" correct religion -- and that your rituals are "the" right way to honor God. Your religion and your rituals will be YOUR way of honoring God, not THE way. That's all. In exchange, you will have taken a step toward uniting the world in peace. Keep the name. Keep the rituals. Lose the superiority complex. Recognize that your religion and rituals are one way of expressing the same beliefs and hopes that underlie the different religions of the world. Respect the rights of others to do it their way, and recognize that we share the same foundations. |