Why is community a near-universal experience—especially for people of faith? One person put it this way: "Community is God's strategy for reaching the world." That's a neat way of saying that as community—rather than as individuals—we model what God has in mind for humanity.
The awareness of the unity and interconnectedness of all beings leads -- if it is consistent -- to an empathy with others. It expresses itself as reverence of life, compassion, a sense of the communion of suffering humanity, and the commitment to heal our wounded earth and its peoples.