Given the past performance of religious institutions in limiting human endeavors and teaching self-defeating cosmic views, it may seem odd that these very institutions could have a role in realizing Destiny. Yet, they do. On the positive side they provide comfort and hope when life experiences become overwhelming for individuals, families, or communities. They are our mechanism to keep us continuously aware of our responsibility in living good values. Thus, the positive roles of religion have a place in realizing Destiny. Religious institutions, i.e. our churches, are a readily available, already established local medium for us to keep focused on Destiny, in the company of our friends and peers.

The less pleasant aspect of religions is that they are a detriment today, as well as in the past, to remaining open to new knowledge that might affect the old definitions of cosmic reality. It is thus necessary to improve the content of most religions regarding deities and an afterlife. That will not be easy to accomplish, except through the people who currently attend churches. In short, it is well known in business that without a customer you do not have a business. With religions, the customers are the congregations, and they do determine whether or not a given church continues its practices.

At a practical level, the established religions will fight Destiny tooth and nail, for Destiny firmly states that their historically applied power behaviors and limited thinking are detrimental to our present and our future. There will not be dialogue to figure out how to accommodate Destiny. Expect in some instances to form new congregations in old church buildings and to modify present congregations to address early polarization of views. Use the church experience for mutual support and as an excellent medium for individuals to gather to express views and learn the values of Destiny. The church setting is also ideal for contrarian discussion. It is ideal for disseminating information regarding Destiny and having the opportunity to discuss individual questions and comments.

I am not advocating the formation of a church of Destiny, for that implies the formation of one more separatist group. I am recommending that Destiny views be introduced within our religions gradually, to replace our fixation with a static view of human life and our role in the cosmos. Let our religions evolve. Give our religious leaders time to evolve their sense of origin and destiny, while continuing to provide guidance on how we should live with each other, the golden rule, and comfort to those who endure disasters or lose loved ones. Think evolution, not revolution, in moving from where we are to where we need to be. Consider that religious leaders could modify their cosmic views to teach people to come home to God through real and lasting human progress. They can teach us to think of historical figures like Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, or Confucius as early, advanced teachers of concepts that helped pave the way for Destiny for the entire human race.

A very interesting and useful characteristic of many churches is the mixture of the members in terms of wealth and education. Unlike the experience of working in a business, time spent in church related activities gives individuals a fine opportunity to cross financial and educational boundaries to enhance their understanding of life and each other. I cannot imagine a better environment to help teach Destiny concepts and demonstrate how to apply them within the context of a given religion, in terms of direct activities, practices and behaviors. In short, I am talking about breathing new life into churches by giving the participants an active religion that transcends adulation of past beliefs and individuals. Everyone has a hand in defining their own purpose and their chosen activities to help build the future. Foundation beliefs are thus relegated to exactly that place ... foundation from which to grow, not invariant structure.

Churches might also become the source of our politicians, such that political district management in voting and voter registration is a function of the churches, which also nominate our representatives to populate our legislatures. By so doing, and with regard to proportional population representation, we would have perhaps twice as many representatives, and the elimination of political machines, which have undermined in totality the intent of our Constitution. Turnover of politicians would be back in the hands of the citizens, where it was intended to be. We would also have a great many more active church members. Is that so bad?

Let us remember that we were guaranteed freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. It is perfectly okay to have a church of Agnosticism, but it is not okay to ignore the needs of society by choosing not to participate in community, state and national goals and practices. Failure to participate actively as a registered member of a church that meets at least weekly means no vote. And that is consistent with the educational discussion of individuals being provided educational opportunity and then being required to earn a living by earned contribution.

One of the beneficial offshoots of moving part of the political process to churches is that we can overcome the sense of being powerless in the political process. Thus, use of churches in the political arena is one more example of distributed power, at the expense of big money and political machines and media time.

I leave it to church leaders to consider all the implications of the responsibilities and opportunities identified above. It does not take much imagination to realize the potential value to our churches and their leaders. For those who suspect that this proposal is a direct violation of the separation of church and state, rethink your position. I am not advocating a single church dominating the governments or being the official religion of a country. Besides, our leaders usually come from some church anyway. Now we can give them a strong reason to live those values.

The pursuit of an afterlife and the worship of the concept of God are, rather curiously, not so far removed from Destiny. If our evolution as a species results ultimately in advanced, non-human life forms, our thoughts regarding an afterlife may in fact be met, as a species. As we ascend towards the distant goal of power over existence, we come ever closer to our concept of God, and, perhaps, may in fact discover God.

Destiny does address our human need to be more than human in the most religious way, for we humbly admit our limited knowledge, our propensity to repeat our errors and our hope for wisdom and a better life. The confluence of these considerations with the better teachings from our religions is pretty obvious, and a comfortable basis from which to evolve from the best our ancestors could provide to what we can provide for our ourselves and our progeny.

Thus, religious institutions have a definite role in realizing Destiny. The present religious leaders may not be open to Destiny's cosmic views, but there exists a number of good and compelling reasons to work with these people and the congregations to benefit everyone's self perception and growth. Your imperative is to help that to happen by whatever honest and non-violent means you have within your sphere of influence.

One clear need is for our best educated religious leaders and teachers to review the whole of historical experience within their respective religions, focusing most effort in researching the definitions of the purpose of life and how humans are to live with each other. There is a commonality of major consequence to be found across most of the world religions, regarding how humans are to react to the very fact of life, and it matters not whether we look at Buddhism or Catholicism. A holistic approach to defining human life both in terms of how we are to live with each other and what we may do now and in the future to honor the source of our existence is waiting to be done. It is most important.