Wednesday, August 11, 2010

My take on the Unitarian Universalists

Since the UUs came up in some recent comments, let me say that I think they're absolutely wonderful. I've visited their congregation here in Fargo and had a great experience. They encourage diversity, freethinking (they even link to the Red River Freethinkers on their website) and individuality. To quote from their About Us section:
The search for truth is a personal one—unique for each individual.  Each of us is different and is affected differently by life’s events.  The purpose of the Unitarian Universalist Church’s services and Religious Education Program is to help adults and children explore their own religious and spiritual ideas and feelings (as well as those of others of all times) in a friendly, non-judgmental environment.
The first Sunday I attended, the message was given by a special musical guest, Peter Mayer,  who told his story of growing up as a Roman Catholic, but losing his faith in early adulthood and then searching for another religion. He said he and his wife would go to services, and if they could get through one without having to mutter under their breath, "Bull-oney," then they would go back. That didn't happen until they visited the UUs. He mentioned that the UUs were a somewhat ironic group, because they're an organized religion that is largely composed of people who are disenchanted with organized religion.

Then he spoke of what he'd like to see in the future, great works of art devoted to the wonder of everyday life, stained glass windows depicting the Big Bang or the first cell. I found particularly touching the contrast he found with Catholicism where only a certain very few things were considered holy, and this world and this life were considered imperfect rubbish, nothing more than a pit stop on the way to the afterlife and heaven, which are held up as better and more real in most religions. He wrote a song about these feelings, "Holy Now." An excerpt:
When holy water was rare at best
It barely wet my fingertips
But now I have to hold my breath
Like I’m swimming in a sea of it
It used to be a world half there
Heaven’s second rate hand-me-down
But I walk it with a reverent air
‘Cause everything is holy now 
You can see the video of the whole song at the bottom of this post, or visit Peter Mayer's website to hear more of his music or buy his CDs.

The next time I visited, two graduating seniors were invited to talk a little about their experiences with the congregation. One young woman talked about feeling like the odd one out as a child because all her friends were Christians, but as she grew up, many of her friends were having these crises of faith, being told they had to believe certain things but not being sure if they did or not. And she realized, "Hmm, my church told me I could believe whatever I wanted and decide for myself." She felt free to find her own path.

That week's speaker was a women's activist who talked about her work with the local Girl Scouts and what we could do as community members to work toward equality for women. At one point she asked, "How many of you here would consider yourselves feminists?" And I grinned as almost every single hand went up.

I stayed for coffee and conversation and the people were all great. I glanced through their lending library, which included the Bible, the Koran, books on Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and... Sam Harris's Letter to a Christian Nation. How many churches do you know of that would include Sam Harris in their lending library?

Will I go back? Probably. The local congregation doesn't meet during the summer months and I discovered them just as their church year was ending. The words spoken and the lyrics of the congregational songs were all things I agreed with. It was very open and accepting and non-dogmatic.

But... I found it a little bland. The genercism (I invented a word there) that allowed for such a wide pallet of individual beliefs and paths lacked a certain depth and potency that I crave in religious practice. For me. But overall, I think UUs are great and they fill a need for community and tradition and education that many people lose when they can no longer believe in many mainstream religions. So I'll probably go back and visit, but I don't see myself joining.

If you'd like to learn more about Unitarian Universalists, you can read about them on their website, where you can also enter your zip code to find a congregation near you.



Share/Bookmark

If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll check out my new blog.

9 comments:

  1. I have visited my local congregation of UUs several times and have been impressed with how nice and sincere everyone seemed. People sat in the meeting smiling, and paying attention. (The last Sacrament meeting I attended lots of heads down, and not many looked happy...)

    Great song. Thanks for sharing it.

    Just found your blog a few days ago. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Kiley! Glad to have you!

    I remember thinking many times how strange it was that Mormons claimed to have the only path to true happiness, but yet so many of them didn't seem very happy. Supposedly, men are that they might have joy, but I guess not till you get the Celestial Kingdom or something...?

    ReplyDelete
  3. When I first started attending the UU fellowship in the town I went to college in, I felt much the same way. It seemed like a lot of effort to get up on Sunday morning to sing "hymns" to... whatever might be listening.

    The thing about fellowshipping with UUs is that you have to bring your spirituality with you. You can come with questions, but they'll only help you look for the answers; they don't have any ready for you. There are a lot of very spiritual, even devout UUs, but they recognize that you aren't on the same path they are, and they won't try to drag you along after them.

    It isn't for everyone; some people want easy answers. I still believe that the 7 Principles are good ideals to try to live up to. I think we'd all be better off if more people lived by them. I disagree with most of the people in my congregation about something, be it politics, religion, or Macro-economic theory, but I love knowing that even if we fight about important topics, we respect that we are part of a loving and accepting community. We may disagree on the methods, but I know that each of them is dedicated to improving the world we share.

    It's great to feel like a part of something like that without having to accept dogma and superstition.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wish more people would try and model Secular Judiasm but based on more general (American?) cultural norms and traditions. It seems like there's a need for such a thing: Secular Humanist Community Centers or something... Here are some of Paul Kurtz's thoughts on the matter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The first time I attended a UU church I felt like for the first time I CAN BREATH! I never left, been coming for more years than I can count.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am a member of the UUA and am very dedicated to getting its message out. Thanks for your positive statement on it. I will be reading more of your blog and I hope you will read mine. Start with this:
    http://circleh.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/why-more-people-should-join-the-unitarian-universalists/

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am a member of the UUA and am very dedicated to getting its message out. Thanks for your positive statement on it. I will be reading more of your blog and I hope you will read mine. Start with this:
    http://circleh.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/why-more-people-should-join-the-unitarian-universalists/

    ReplyDelete
  8. The first time I attended a UU church I felt like for the first time I CAN BREATH! I never left, been coming for more years than I can count.

    ReplyDelete
  9. When I first started attending the UU fellowship in the town I went to college in, I felt much the same way. It seemed like a lot of effort to get up on Sunday morning to sing "hymns" to... whatever might be listening.

    The thing about fellowshipping with UUs is that you have to bring your spirituality with you. You can come with questions, but they'll only help you look for the answers; they don't have any ready for you. There are a lot of very spiritual, even devout UUs, but they recognize that you aren't on the same path they are, and they won't try to drag you along after them.

    It isn't for everyone; some people want easy answers. I still believe that the 7 Principles are good ideals to try to live up to. I think we'd all be better off if more people lived by them. I disagree with most of the people in my congregation about something, be it politics, religion, or Macro-economic theory, but I love knowing that even if we fight about important topics, we respect that we are part of a loving and accepting community. We may disagree on the methods, but I know that each of them is dedicated to improving the world we share.

    It's great to feel like a part of something like that without having to accept dogma and superstition.

    ReplyDelete

Religion, skepticism, and carving out a spiritual life post-Mormonism