There are certainly wide differences among the world’s major
religious traditions with respect to social ordinances and forms of worship.
Given the thousands of years during which successive revelations of the Divine
have addressed the changing needs of a constantly evolving civilization, it could
hardly be otherwise. Indeed, an inherent feature of the scriptures of most of
the major faiths would appear to be the expression, in some form or other, of
the principle of religion’s evolutionary nature. What cannot be morally
justified is the manipulation of cultural legacies that were intended to enrich
spiritual experience, as a means to arouse prejudice and alienation. The
primary task of the soul will always be to investigate reality, to live in
accordance with the truths of which it becomes persuaded and to accord full
respect to the efforts of others to do the same. - The Universal House of
Justice (From a message dated April 2002, addressed to the World’s Religious
Leaders)
