From The Order of Her Noodly Appendage
"The problem with the TOoHNA's Philosophy—and, spiritually speaking, I am inclined more in that direction than in any other—is that if it makes sense to you, it effectively strips you of the benefits of adhering to any one particular set of religious practices and beliefs. Once you’ve grasped the idea that every religion is more or less a culturally conditioned response to the ineffable pull of dharma/logos/tao/natural law that drives the human heart, it seems impossible to remain committed to all the doctrines of the specific religion one was raised in and equally impossible to adopt the doctrinal details of any other religion—so among other things you lose that tremendous sense of community that comes from sharing a faith with others. That’s the way it has affected me, anyway. The Perennial Philosophy (as with the “god of the philosophers”) might be intellectually satisfying, but spiritually not so much. It’s pretty much been the central conundrum of the second half of my life (so far, anyway)." Mark
Our sense of community comes from our faith is in that we our all head to the same destination from similar starting places. That common belief and a willingness to help others going through the same territory we have gone through, gives us a sense of community. What we don't have, and what you miss so much for, is an enemy to unit in hatred of.