Religion, of course, is nothing new. Religion was the driving force behind the Muslim Ottoman Empire and the Christian colonial powers of France, Britain, and Spain and the Christian Byzantine Empire. It is mentioned here only because it wields a significant force today, although not as powerful as in centuries past. The world can be viewed as Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu empires with hundreds of smaller empires made up of agnostics, other religions, and cultists. These empires can peacefully coexist; they generally do so in democracies. Of course, there are small skirmishes even in democracies. These take the form of religious conversions, dogma (the forcing of one's beliefs on others), and the occasional killing in the name of God.

The trouble really starts when a country becomes overwhelmingly one religion, or worse yet, when countries adopt a theocratic government (one based on religious beliefs). Examples of such governments include the Hindu Nationalist government in India, the Muslim governments of Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, as well as the Jewish theocracy of Israel. These governments often turn against one another (ie India and Pakistan, Muslim nations and Israel) and many strictly govern the lives of the citizens. For example, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan forbids women to work or get an education and television is banned. In religiously divided areas, fighting can be commonplace. There is constant turmoil in Israel between the majority Jews and the minority Arab Muslims. In Sri Lanka, the Buddhists and Muslims are frequently struggling against each other.

Religion is an empire that has no borders. Religious people who may be divided by thousands of miles still share the same belief system, customs and culture. If an American Buddhist visited a temple in Korea, he would be sure to meet individuals sharing similar lifestyles and opinions. When there is persecution of a religious group in a distant land, members of the same religion worldwide express their outcry and come to the defense of the oppressed. In fact, Episcopal Bishop William A. Swing started a quest to unify all religions in 1997. He's still on his quest to create a United Religions very similar to the United Nations where leaders of all the major world religions could meet and cooperatively discuss issues. He has powerful supporters including the Dalai Lama (the figurehead of Buddhism) and South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Islamic head of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Religious imperialism has caused the loss of millions of lives and continues to be one of the most powerful components in global unity today, whether good or evil.