Unitarians are far from wishy-washy

[cleanhippie]

Unitarians are far from wishy-washy

Followers of the Unitarian faith have often braved hostility and outright violence for their open-mindedness and social activism

reddit this
Comments (89)

Rose McDonagh
Rose McDonagh
guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 September 2011 02.59 EDT
Article history

Many Unitarian Universalists, including their president, Rev Peter Morales, were arrested for protesting against Arizona's anti-immigrant law last year

In Springfield Missouri, The First Unitarian Universalist Church flies a rainbow flag to represent equality. "Every few months our flag is stolen, we have had graffiti written on our sidewalk and steps, and outdoor lights broken," Linda, the church administrator, tells me in an email. Sometimes, those angry at the congregation's stance on social issues have taken the bizarre step of turning up at the church and placing fake money in the collection plate scrawled with racist or homophobic notes. "I have a wallet full of them."

Theo Hobson wrote about his first experience of a Unitarian Universalist church in Brooklyn on this website, finding it "harmless" but edging towards the vacuous. The service itself offered "as much sense of dangerous otherness as a tots' singalong at the local library". Yet as a movement, at times it has been the Unitarian attitude to otherness that has taken them into dangerous territory. The organisation's social activism has led to some extremes of hostility.

In 2008, a man walked into a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, Tennessee and shot nine people, killing two. The gunman stated that the congregations' liberal views had motivated his attack.

Unitarian Universalism is sometimes referred to as America's "other" religion – one that offers a reverse of the stereotype of American religious conservatism. US census data shows it to be a significant minority religion with between a quarter and a half million people linking themselves with the movement. In the UK the equivalent is a smaller denomination known as the Unitarians. Related organisations exist across the world. Notably in some African countries, new congregations are being set up by individual Africans who have often read about the movement online and want an alternative to fundamentalism.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/sep/30/unitarian-faith-social-activism?newsfeed=true

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am happy and proud to count myself among the UU congregation.

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Me too!

;-)

ETA:

How could anyone think that someone like Michael Servetus was a wishy washy wimp?
http://www.godglorified.com/michael_servetus.htm

[msongs]

2. me too - I don't need a person in the pulpit telling me what to do/think/feel under threat of hell n

[LiberalEsto]

3. My congregation flies a rainbow flag too

and it has strongly supported the UU "Standing on the Side of Love" campaign for equal marriage rights.

Here's a link to the many social advocacy programs of the Unitarian Universalist Association:
http://www.uua.org/action/

Here's something from the UUA web site:
"Working for civil rights and combating oppression are essential parts of our spiritual journey. Our faith community has worked for justice for hundreds of years, from advocating for free speech and the free practice of religion as far back as the fifteen hundreds to helping to abolish slavery and supporting women’s rights beginning in the eighteen hundreds."

[no_hypocrisy]

4. And the same for Ethical Culture Society

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_movement

Ethical Culture is premised on the idea that honoring and living in accordance with ethical principles is central to what it takes to live meaningful and fulfilling lives, and to creating a world that is good for all. Practitioners of Ethical Culture focus on supporting one another in becoming better people, and on doing good in the world.

[E_Pluribus_Unitarian]

5. Pretty good article.

I agree with the "other" religion premise too, because the kind of hybrid religious/secular, humanistic approach to religion offered by UU (and Ethical Culture...and by the way, in Washington DC they have joined together in one congregation) does offer a "whole 'nother way" of looking at religion.

[rug]

6. What does Unitarian mean?

What does Universalist mean?

[Goblinmonger]

7. The label is pretty much meaningless now, imho.

We belong to a UU fellowship in Wisconsin. Ours is very non-religious. My daughter goes to UW Madison and went to the UU there and found that, in her words (she, too, is an atheist--but not an evil one like me), it was too "Jesusy." Probably good that there isn't a top-down hierarchy.

[cleanhippie]

8. Here ya go, rug.

http://www.uua.org/beliefs/history/index.shtml

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious tradition that was formed from the consolidation of two different religions: Unitarianism and Universalism. Both began in Europe hundreds of years ago. In America, the Universalist Church of America was founded in 1793, and the American Unitarian Association in 1825. After consolidating in 1961, these faiths became the new religion of Unitarian Universalism through the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).

Both religions have long histories and have contributed important theological concepts that remain central to Unitarian Universalism. Originally, all Unitarians were Christians who didn't believe in the Holy Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), but in the unity, or single aspect, of God. Later, Unitarian beliefs stressed the importance of rational thinking, a direct relationship with God, and the humanity of Jesus. Universalism emerged as a Christian denomination with a central belief in universal salvation; that is, that all people will eventually be reconciled with God.

Since the merger of the two denominations in 1961, Unitarian Universalism has nurtured its Unitarian and Universalist heritages to provide a strong voice for social justice and liberal religion.

http://www.uua.org/beliefs/principles/

Our Unitarian Universalist Principles

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources:

Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

[provis99]

9. Unitarians are a whole lot more interesting than most congregations.

they believe in unusual religious things, like tolerance, and being nice.