Unitarian Universalism

Adammi · Jun 27, 2008

My knowledge of UU is limited to their Wikipedia article. One very surprising thing to me is this stat:

In a survey,[4] Unitarian Universalists in the United States were asked which provided term or set of terms best describe their belief. Many respondents chose more than one term to describe their beliefs. The top choices were:

Humanist – 54%
Agnostic – 33%
Earth-centered – 31%
Atheist – 18%
Buddhist – 16.5%
Christian – 13.1%
Pagan – 13.1%

I find this statistic good nor bad. I'm neutral to it, but very very intrigued by it. I find it so interesting that there would be more atheists in any religious institution than Christians.

Kris10leigh · Jun 27, 2008

I have some good friends who tried this church out for a while. They didn't like it because every time the word "God" was mentioned it was always qualified with the words "as you understand Him or her". You know, "Praise God, as you may understand Him or her". And it was actually rather taboo to talk about God at all. My friend is pretty liberally minded and she felt it was a little too liberal even for her.

It sound intrigueing to me.

Adammi · Jun 27, 2008

Kris10leigh said:
I have some good friends who tried this church out for a while. They didn't like it because every time the word "God" was mentioned it was always qualified with the words "as you understand Him or her". You know, "Praise God, as you may understand Him or her". And it was actually rather taboo to talk about God at all. My friend is pretty liberally minded and she felt it was a little too liberal even for her.

It sound intrigueing to me.

That makes since considering that belief in God is a minority opinion. I think it is a great thing, but not something I could do every week. I think that a UU Fellowship of various philosophical and religious organizations would be a great thing to be held several times annually or even once a month. While respect and admiration are essential among varying religious beliefs, I think that it would be difficult to advance spiritually as a Buddhist if most everyone at your "church" was not Buddhist. The same could be said for Christians or Pagans or Others who I am sure are a part of UU. I want to learn from other religions, but I think that ecumenism (as magnificently important as it is) is not all there is to religion. We need to be able to advance within our own faith traditions as well as understanding others.

Kris10leigh · Jun 27, 2008

Adammi said:
That makes since considering that belief in God is a minority opinion. I think it is a great thing, but not something I could do every week. I think that a UU Fellowship of various philosophical and religious organizations would be a great thing to be held several times annually or even once a month. While respect and admiration are essential among varying religious beliefs, I think that it would be difficult to advance spiritually as a Buddhist if most everyone at your "church" was not Buddhist. The same could be said for Christians or Pagans or Others who I am sure are a part of UU. I want to learn from other religions, but I think that ecumenism (as magnificently important as it is) is not all there is to religion. We need to be able to advance within our own faith traditions as well as understanding others.

I agree. It seems like a pretty good place to raise your children with good morals though. I know a lot of agnostics and atheists who aren't religious, per se, but lament not having a church like atmosphere in which to raise their kids.

Loki · Jun 27, 2008

Rochir said:
Well, there IS a difference between UU and Unitarian Christians

This could stand to be repeated.

One of the active members of my college Atheist/Agnostic/etc. group was active in his UU church.

Adammi · Jun 28, 2008

Kris10leigh said:
I agree. It seems like a pretty good place to raise your children with good morals though. I know a lot of agnostics and atheists who aren't religious, per se, but lament not having a church like atmosphere in which to raise their kids.

That's a great point. I've never thought of that.

Maverick3000 · Jun 28, 2008

I've been to a few congregations, but I found it to "open" for me. I still consider myself a Universalist and supporter, but I probably won't be a full time regular to a church anytime soon.

Ave Maria · Jun 29, 2008

I have pretty much always found Unitarian Universalism to be at least somewhat attractive. I have always had a liberal streak within me (even as a Fundamentalist). That and I have always had a skeptical streak within me as well (even as a Fundamentalist again). So, I would like to check out a Unitarian Universalist congregation sometime but the closest one to me is not exactly within driving distance.

plum · Jun 29, 2008

Kris10leigh said:
I have some good friends who tried this church out for a while. They didn't like it because every time the word "God" was mentioned it was always qualified with the words "as you understand Him or her". You know, "Praise God, as you may understand Him or her". And it was actually rather taboo to talk about God at all. My friend is pretty liberally minded and she felt it was a little too liberal even for her.

It sound intrigueing to me.

I wonder if it might get lost in political correctness.

Ramona · Jun 30, 2008

plum said:
Has anyone attended a UU congregation?

Yes.

Is anyone a member?

Yes. I've been a card-carrying member of the UUA for a good four years now.

What was your experience there?

Ambivalent. Most of my time spent there was as a teenager. The same pressure I feel to be conservative when I associate with Christians is present in UU Congregations, only it's like a liberal contest. I didn't feel welcome. I felt like I was going to be lynched if I wasn't Little Miss 100% Perfect Liberal all the time. They put a lot of emphasis on individuality, but they also often made me feel like less of a person for not being enough like the rest of them.

I'm told that it's a lot different in a lot of places, my experience was not a good one at all.

What do you gain personally, and what is your motivation for attending?

Nothing. It made me feel really excluded, so I have stayed away.

do you find the topics spoken about and priorities taught to be of a political nature (like rights, laws, activism, and so on)?

Yes. If you admitted to holding any conservative views at my congregation, you were publicly humiliated by at least a handful of members.

I know a lot of really wonderful UU's, but I still haven't felt comfortable going to a UU church. Good luck!

plum · Jun 30, 2008

Thanks for your insights and experience, Heart!

Ramona · Jun 30, 2008

No problem.

LovebirdsFlying · Jun 30, 2008

Heart of Darkness said:
....The same pressure I feel to be conservative when I associate with Christians is present in UU Congregations, only it's like a liberal contest. I didn't feel welcome. I felt like I was going to be lynched if I wasn't Little Miss 100% Perfect Liberal all the time. They put a lot of emphasis on individuality, but they also often made me feel like less of a person for not being enough like the rest of them.....If you admitted to holding any conservative views at my congregation, you were publicly humiliated by at least a handful of members....

That's interesting. Your experience with UU is very similar to mine with MCC as I posted here.

It is true irony when liberals don't make someone feel welcome, for not being liberal enough. Thank God for WWMC, where when we say Whosoever, we mean it!

Joykins · Jun 30, 2008

Group think is a really strong force.

Ramona · Jun 30, 2008

LovebirdsFlying said:
That's interesting. Your experience with UU is very similar to mine with MCC as I posted here.

It is true irony when liberals don't make someone feel welcome, for not being liberal enough. Thank God for WWMC, where when we say Whosoever, we mean it!

True that!

Protinus · Jun 30, 2008

LovebirdsFlying said:
Thank God for WWMC, where when we say Whosoever, we mean it!

We do that in Liberal Catholics...though we have a back alley for uses that we won't explain.

Simonline · Jul 15, 2008

Post deleted

Im_A · Jul 15, 2008

Simonline said:
If people find this offensive it is because the Truth, by its very nature, is offensive to all who are perishing but a sweet fragrance to those who are being redeemed.

Simonline.

the pure justificatin to one's views. so maybe when believers find what non-believers say is offensive (when slandering is not in the picture) according to your statement here, us non-believers are thus in the correct way of thinking because of how what we believe in is offensive to those who believe.

note, this isn't a pro-unitarian response. and the thing is, we've heard the reasoning you've had before, and that truth has not set us free yet. so good luck with it simon!

redheadmt · Jul 19, 2008

My parents were married in a UU church in 1968. Interestingly enough, most of my dad's Catholic family refused to attend the wedding, and his immediate family (my grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles) sat in the back row in protest.

Anyway, my grandma attended a UU church for over fifty years and I attended services with her several times. I also went to the midnight Christmas Eve services. What I loved about the UU church is that EVERYONE is welcome. No matter what your faith or sexual orientation you are welcome to be there. It's not the kind of "welcome" where the members have a stiff smile and awkwardly tolerate people who homosexual or transgender or pagan or Catholic or Muslim or any other faith, they actually EMBRACE the differences among people and want to learn about different people.

The services are varied. There are readings from all kinds of authors, poets, and books, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Frost, Mark Twain, Eleanor Roosevelt or even a reading from the bible or the Koran that is used as part of the reverend's sermon.

I really liked the UU church. After my grandma died I stopped going. For me I decided the the United Church of Christ suited me better because it is a Christian church that has the same level of acceptance of the differences in all people, just like the UU church.

Adammi · Jul 21, 2008

redheadmt said:
My parents were married in a UU church in 1968. Interestingly enough, most of my dad's Catholic family refused to attend the wedding, and his immediate family (my grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles) sat in the back row in protest.

Anyway, my grandma attended a UU church for over fifty years and I attended services with her several times. I also went to the midnight Christmas Eve services. What I loved about the UU church is that EVERYONE is welcome. No matter what your faith or sexual orientation you are welcome to be there. It's not the kind of "welcome" where the members have a stiff smile and awkwardly tolerate people who homosexual or transgender or pagan or Catholic or Muslim or any other faith, they actually EMBRACE the differences among people and want to learn about different people.

The services are varied. There are readings from all kinds of authors, poets, and books, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Frost, Mark Twain, Eleanor Roosevelt or even a reading from the bible or the Koran that is used as part of the reverend's sermon.

I really liked the UU church. After my grandma died I stopped going. For me I decided the the United Church of Christ suited me better because it is a Christian church that has the same level of acceptance of the differences in all people, just like the UU church.

That's a very informative post. Thanks so much for sharing.

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