One Common Faith: 4

Beyond the attention that religion, as formally conceived, has begun to command is a widespread revival of spiritual search. Expressed most commmonly as an urge to discover a personal identity that transcends the merely physical, the development encourages a multitude of pursuits, both positive and negative in character. On the one hand, the search for justice and the promotion of the cause of international peace tend to have the effect of also arousing new perceptions of the individual's role in society.

Similarly, although focused on the mobilization of support for changes in social decision-making, movements like environmentalism and feminism induce a re-examination of people's sense of themselves and of their purpose in life.

A reorientation occurring in all the major religious communities is the accelerated migration of believers from traditional branches of the parent faiths to sects that attach primary importance to the spiritual search and personal experiences of their members.

At the opposite pole, extraterrestrial sightings, "self-discovery" regimens, wilderness retreats, charismatic exaltation, various New Age enthusiasms, and the consciousness-raising efficacy attributed to narcotics and hallucinogens attract followings far larger and more diverse than anything enjoyed by spiritualism or theosophy at a similar historical turning point a century ago.

For one Dedicated to the Glory of God, the proliferation even of cults and practices that may arouse aversion in the minds of many serves primarily as a reminder of the insight embodied in the ancient tale of Majnun, who sifted the dust in his search for the beloved Layli, although aware that she was pure spirit:

"I seek her everywhere; haply somewhere I shall find her."