I think Buddhism, Unitarian Universalism, and the Society of Friends (Quakers) at their best, are three examples of religions that emphasize the liberation of people.

No community is perfect, and institutionalization will always come with a cost. I think it’s important to remember that many religious communities were established with a set of objectives/goals that may have made more sense 2000 (or 100) years ago than they do today.

We live in an individualistic age that is highly suspicious of institutions in any form (not just religion). I think it’s important to remember that most religious institutions were formed in times and cultures that did not share our lionization of the individual and our suspicion of the collective.