I'm sorry, but the example in your comment is nonstandard usage. The part after the semicolon would typically be an independent clause, whereas the "because" marks yours as a dependent clause.

There are still comma-like uses though. The major one I can think of is as a separator in a list where each element is long, possibly containing commas of its own.

It's more of a weak period than a strong comma; both sides of it need to be complete sentences.

You didn't quite get it right; adding "because" removes the need for a semicolon. Take out that single word, and your sentence becomes proper.