Jacqueline Thornley: Lane Reflection

On page 34 in Landscapes of the Sacred, Lane talks about tension. He says “tension is one that exists in every religious tradition.” For some reason this really resonated with me. I like to think of myself as a religious person, but I don’t really feel tension towards religions other than my own. It’s true though, there have always been such awful religious wars in history and in present day. I’ve just never understood this. Most of the time, regardless of the individual’s particular religion they’re usually encouraged to be tolerant of others no matter who they are or what they may believe. Shouldn’t religion be used to unite people instead of driving them apart? The very reason people have religion is to tell them how to live and guarantee some sort of salvation or destination after death. Why then, does tension still persist?