"Liberal" denomination recommendation?

[someonestupid]

Hello, I'm new here. If you don't mind maybe I can give you a brief description about myself: I grew up in an ultra conservative fundamentalist KJV Baptist church. For reasons other than the obvious, I have walked away that movement as an adult.

I consider myself to be a Christian rationalist and admirer of the teachings of Christ. I believe in Christ's message of pacifism and taking care of the needy. I live in a rural area and am near a small metropolitan wasteland in upstate NY, where most people who attend church go to the standard popular evangelical consumer/capitalist congregation where they have a band and you aren't forbidden from partaking in some worldly pleasures like going to the movies and having an occasional beer. I do not take the bible as literal interpretation of God, so I would not fit in with these folks, either. I have visited an American Baptist Church only to discover that it's a haven for senior citizens, and I have attended a Presbyterian USA church only to find the promotion of James Dobson material like "The Truth Project."

Based on my acute observation, it seems like "mainline" denominations seem to be dead. I want to "fellowship" with a group of like minded "liberal" Christians who are in their 20s and the 30s, but it seems like a denomination that attracts this age group doesn't exist unless you live in a large urban area. Do any of you folks have any suggestions for a progressive Christian denomination that's attracting a lot of people in my age group? I am not looking for an organization that exclusively caters to this age group; I would like to know if there is a movement in the liberal denominations that is attracting large masses of people like the fundamentalist/pentecostal movements are-and if so-where can I find one?

 

[someonestupid]

I was too quick to make this thread when there is another on entitled "a few questions about liberal denominations."

I'm not trying to troll...I'll look at content more carefully the next time I make a new thread.

 

[St. Paul]

I would recommend visiting a United Methodist Church.

 

[Supernaut]

Look into the United Church of Christ (UCC).

 

[Liberal Angel]

Nondenominational FTW

 

[lux et lex]

Nondenominational FTW

Every nondenominational church I have been to has been neo-conservative.

 

[WiredSpirit]

Yeah, most of your non-denominational churches come out of the restoration movement. I had the same issue where I found a UCC church where the pastor was awesome, but there was no young adult ministries at all. The UMC is a little more conservative than I like, but the congregations vary greatly and nobody is likely to kick you out because of your beliefs. There also seems to be a big college/young adult ministry at most churches.

 

[Allen1901]

Unitarians are about as liberial as you can get.

UUA: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

 

[Libs]

First Christian or Disciples of Christ are very liberal.

 

[Libs]

This may have already been mentioned, but a lot of Episcopalian Churches are very liberal. John Shelby Spong is Episcopalian and you can't get much more liberal than that.

 

[Aibrean]

I would say the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). They love beer (as do all Lutherans). The doctrine that drinking alcohol is sinful is obviously false. The only thing that's sinful is getting drunk.

I do have issues with their homosexual clergy and you didn't mention anything about that. With any church it is good to research history and statements of the church.

Liberal can mean a lot of things.

 

[lux et lex]

I would say the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). They love beer (as do all Lutherans). The doctrine that drinking alcohol is sinful is obviously false. The only thing that's sinful is getting drunk.

That is a Lutheran thing isn't it? Every Lutheran I know loves beer.

 

[Aibrean]

I think so...of course we also like wine My husband works for a sister church and for our Christmas staff dinner they had red and white wine.

 

[QuakerOats]

The Quakers are another option, though finding where you 'fit' may be difficult considering some liberal branches are post-Christian and/or universalist in nature, but if you're okay with that, Quakers are known for their focus on nonviolence and the social gospel.

 

[someonestupid]

An update: I attended a Unitarian church this past Sunday. It was quite an interesting experience when you consider that I was raised fundamental Baptist.

After doing a little research about the denomination-I can honestly say that the tenets of the UU church are probably the most compatible with my beliefs, currently.

What I like about this UU church, in particular, is the fact they have many work shops and programs available. They have a "Peace Action Committee," a sustainability club, a support group for people who are suffering from bi-polar disorder/depression, a social justice group, a group for GLBTG, and few others. I also like the fact that there's a younger element there. Out of the many "progressive-mainline" denominations that I've visited, in my area, the vast majority of parishioners were middle-age or elderly folk.

The problem I have is that even though the denomination is unconventional in their positions, it is still organized religion. Even though I felt more comfortable there the environment was still similar to a Baptist or Evangelical Free church that I've attended in the past. You still had hymns, a sermon, a meet and greet where you wish people "peace," and an offering. It definitely seems like they "borrowed" some traditions from the western New Testament church model.

I'm willing to give it a shot since I need a social outlet; I'm still disgusted with all things relating to church. I'm tired of remaining isolated and not interacting with people who have similar beliefs as mine. With all that's going on in the world-I believe inaction and complacency aren't justifiable.

 

[QuakerOats]

An update: I attended a Unitarian church this past Sunday. It was quite an interesting experience when you consider that I was raised fundamental Baptist.

After doing a little research about the denomination-I can honestly say that the tenets of the UU church are probably the most compatible with my beliefs, currently.

What I like about this UU church, in particular, is the fact they have many work shops and programs available. They have a "Peace Action Committee," a sustainability club, a support group for people who are suffering from bi-polar disorder/depression, a social justice group, a group for GLBTG, and few others. I also like the fact that there's a younger element there. Out of the many "progressive-mainline" denominations that I've visited, in my area, the vast majority of parishioners were middle-age or elderly folk.

I'm glad your overall experience was a positive one. I grew up in a small UU church, so it's nice to hear the thoughts of those just discovering Unitarian Universalism, as well as what other congregations are up to.

The problem I have is that even though the denomination is unconventional in their positions, it is still organized religion. Even though I felt more comfortable there the environment was still similar to a Baptist or Evangelical Free church that I've attended in the past. You still had hymns, a sermon, a meet and greet where you wish people "peace," and an offering. It definitely seems like they "borrowed" some traditions from the western New Testament church model.

Unitarian Universalism has its roots in the Judaeo-Christian traditions, resulting from a merger between Unitarian and Universalist churches, so yes, it's services resemble a typical Protestant one in many ways. However, as you said, I encourage you to give it a decent shot. The seven principles are the only real creed of Unitarian Universalism, so there's no need to fear 'believing wrongly,' although I'm sure we have our opinionated folks as anyone does.

 

[hedrick]

The statement that the mainline denominations are dead means a couple of things, neither of which is any reason not to get involved. You'll note that most of the recommendations have been for mainline denominations.

* The true statement is that they are shrinking. Get over it. Currently the popular trend worldwide is to conservative religions. Not just Christianity. But Christianity in the NT and in the early days of the Church never expected to be popular. Indeed there are lots of reasons to be suspicious of popularity. The dominance of the mainline for a couple of decades after WW II was actually kind of dangerous, I think, because it risked turning the mainline into a quasi State church.

* The false statement is that they are spiritually dead. This is a claim based on evangelical culture, where it is expected that every statement should be punctuated by "Praise the Lord!" Most mainline churches are made up of fine Christians who are reading Scripture, praying, serving their community, and trying to live as Christians in their homes and work. That they aren't making a big deal of their Christianity is completely consistent with Jesus, for whom your right hand should not know when your left hand is giving alms, and your prayer should be in your closet rather than on the street corner. See the recent thread about the interesting article "evangelicals hate Jesus." While that overplays it somewhat -- a number of evangelicals do get Jesus' values -- you can make a good case that the mainline churches do a better job carrying out Jesus' teachings as he actually taught them, and not as the common stereotype of Christianity.

 

[Merlin Athrawes]

I hate to throw a wrench in since you apparently liked your UUA visit, but you might want to visit an American Baptist-related church at some point too. (Find a Church) I do advise carefulness, as many ABC congregations can be essentially as fundamentalist as what you're leaving. That said, however, ABC does have many moderate and liberal congregations and NY state, particularly in the metro NYC and Rochester areas, is a better-than-average place to find these.

 

[Izdaari Eristikon]

Something else worth noting: liberal pastors and congregations can be found in conservative denominations, and vice versa. For a couple of examples, as Merlin noted, some ABC churches may be conservative or even fundamentalist, though it's a liberal denomination, and some AoG churches (such as mine) can be pretty liberal, though it's a conservative denomination. There are limits of course: there is probably no such thing as a liberal IFB church or a fundamentalist UU church.

 

[lismore]

In Scotland we have the Episcopal Church and The CHurch of Scotland (presbyterian). They are quite liberal. The Church of Scotland split, a more fundamentalist wing split off and formed the Free Church of Scotland.

Hope this helps.............