Catherine Greenfield-- The source of life-- In relation to The Unsettling of America.

"Religion, in the root sense of the word, is what binds us back to the source of life" p.81, The Unsettling of America.

I have to say that I agree with this statement, if not only because I am, myself, religious, but because it seems to me that everybody has to believe in something in order to be okay with his or herself, and with his or her surroundings. The idea that we are all connected, whether that idea is a religious or a scientific one, is something that gives us, as human beings, some sort of firm ground on which to stand. The idea, also, that a higher power made us that way on purpose gives us an even firmer ground. My personal view is that God knew that we needed to have that sense of connectedness in order to have the sense of personal and impersonal awareness that makes us human-- without the ability to think about where we come from and how we relate to other things, we wouldn't be human at all. We would be rocks.... not that that's a bad thing. I know quite a number of rocks, and they seem perfectly content in their place. But that's not my point; my point is that our ability to chose whether or not we believe in a God or in something more scientific is what makes us human, and binds us back to whatever source of life we believe in (although, in my opinion again, regardless of what you believe in, God is the source of life. You don't have to believe it for it to be true... although, there is something to be said about belief MAKING something true... but that another topic entirely).
I need time to formulate this idea some more. I think I will address it again, later, however.