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Whatever else it may be, to be "religious" is, first of all, to have a basic faith in the ultimate meaning of life. Thanks to this faith, which, arguably, is constitutive of human existence as such, we all believe:(1) that human existence is constituted somehow, so that not everything is permitted and there is an authentic and true, because realistic, way to understand ourselves and others as parts of the all-encompassing whole; (2) that to understand ourselves in this way and to lead our lives accordingly is both really possible and, like everything else, unconditionally significant; and (3) that the structure of ultimate reality in itself is such as to determine its meaning for us, which is to say, to determine that human existence is so constituted that not everything is permitted and there is an authentic and true, because, realistic, way to understand ourselves and all others in relation to the whole; and that this self-understanding and the life-praxis expressing it are both rea])y really possible and, like everything else, of unconditional significance.

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