What is the impact of community on spirituality?

The call to community is a call to belonging, to being part of something larger than ourselves, to making of our lives the latest chapter in the human story. We want not only to know who we are, but of whom we are a part. These impulses, driven by our Fourth Instinct, weave the thread of community with which we connect with others and reconnect with ourselves. Being raised in Athens, the city of the gods, I was infused with that sense of community. In the home of my childhood, there was no division between community and spirituality, history and current events, public concerns and private issues. And this belief, more than anything else, creates community. It is neither utilitarian nor utopian. It is prompted by the Fourth Instinct, not in its mystical but in its everyday manifestations: by giving, sharing, and making "common" our blessings and burdens alike.

Finding a spiritual community is important for some in order to feel spiritually connected to others who share a common goal or mission. It may be within this bond that some find acceptance, comfort, or unconditional love. Enacting spiritual rituals with a group or community may offer self-discipline and focus as well as heighten the spiritual experience when the energy levels generated compensate for one another. Still others may find solace, healing, and kinship within a spiritual community. Some people have discovered a true purpose or clarity of their own identity for belonging to a spiritual community.