¶ … Religion Most of the world's religions have many common thoughts and underlying beliefs, including commonalities in beliefs about developing good character and the importance of love and compassion. This essay will attempt to create a new religion (called the Harmony) that is inspired by the commonalities seen in many world religions. Rituals, commandments and beliefs will all be examined, and where applicable, outlined for this new religion.

Stand up comedian George Carlin's comedy routine "Complaints and Grievances" reflects a great many North American's attitudes about faith and sex. The premise of his discussion of the Ten Commandments is that Ten Commandments are an artificially inflated number designed to invoke authority, and that the commandments should be revised down to a minimalist number that are more logical and workable. At the end of his discussion, Carlin gives his list of two commandments. They are, 1) "Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie" and 2) "Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you."

His final suggestion for another commandment is, "Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself."

Carlin's "Complaints and Grievances" touches on the commonality of belief and thought seen in many religions; something that many individuals and theologians have explored throughout time. Religion has often been one of the greatest reasons for dissention and war among humans, and yet many religions share a common basis of both moral and ethical guidelines.

Most of the world's religions have many common thoughts and underlying beliefs. While religions can differ in the type of god or gods that are worshiped, rituals, commandments, and structure, most religions share some of the same basic, core beliefs. Essentially, virtually all religions of the world espouse many of the same beliefs, but choose to express these beliefs in their own ways....

Specifically, many of the world's main religions like Buddhism (technically a philosophy but often considered a religion), Christianity, and Hinduism all preach the same concepts of love and being a good person.
Love and compassion are tenets shared between a large number of religions. Christianity urges followers to love their enemies, and notes that God is love. The Dali Lami, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism argues that humanity cannot survive without love and compassion (Shreve).

Similarly developing good character is a common theme of many major and minor religions. Christianity argues that tribulations produce perseverance, character and thus hope, while the Hindu Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5 notes, "The doer of good becomes good; the doer of evil becomes evil"(Shreve). Islam argues that the believers with the most perfect faith are those with the best character, and Buddhism encourages a path of continual self-improvement, and Taoism argues that virtue links the individual to God (Shreve).

The Harmony Religion

Give the commonalities seen between so many of the world's religions; it may be possible to create a single religion that incorporates many of these commonalities. Given the widespread nature of religion, humans seem to both want and need an element of spirituality in their lives. The new religion, Harmony, is inspired by the commonalities seen in many world religions. As such, Harmony's encompassing aim is to create a spirit of companionship, peace, and unity among not only its adherents, but in the rest of the world.

Beliefs

Despite the humorous tone of "Complaints and Grievances," comedian George Carlin's touched upon some crucial issues in his routine. Through humor, Carlin helps the audience to see the commonality of faithfulness and honesty in world religions. He also lampoons the commandment of thou shalt not kill, by noting the number of deaths that have come in the name of religion, citing Northern…