Small is beautiful.

Montreal dentist Mordy Shizgal has set up a synagogue in his home. Each week, as many as 50 people come to his house to worship under the guidance of a young rabbi. It's a small-scale, community-oriented religious experience. Dr. Shizgal explains the appeal: "With the larger synagogues, many of us felt we were serving the temples, rather than the temples serving us." In Canada today, you can find Muslin mosques in suburban living rooms, Buddhist temples in a shopping centre, evangelical churches in an industrial mall unit. York University professor of anthropology Judith Nagata says these grassroots forms of worship are not unique to canada. "This is a worldwide phenomenon, and it really shows that people need something in their lives and they need it to be close to the round and personal. At a time when everything from the family to social services are breaking down, people are looking for meaning in their lives."