A FREE & RESPONSIBLE SEARCH FOR MEANING:
CAN UUs BELIEVE ANYTHING?
May 1, 2005 The Reverend Anne Felton Hines
The man on the phone told me he had a concern about the church that he needed to discuss with me. I listened as he proceeded to tell me how disturbed he was to learn that we had a Pagan group at the church. He’d thought ours was a religion grounded in rationality, he said.
After listening some more, I finally explained that my experience with UU Paganism was that it was more Earth-based than anything else – that it celebrated the world of Nature, and our 7th UU Principle – the Interdependence of all Creation. I talked about how this Earth-based spirituality – especially its affirmation of the Feminine – had spoken to me at a certain period of my life.
Still, the man’s skepticism persisted. To him, this newer movement in Unitarian Universalism seemed irrational and superstitious, and nothing I could say otherwise seemed to change his perception. “Can Unitarian Universalists believe anything?” he kept asking. “Are there no boundaries to what we accept?”
It was not an easy conversation, and I learned later that he did decide not to return to the church. I hope someday he will return, but if not, then I hope he finds an alternative religious path that nourishes his spirit.
This is not the only conversation I have had during my ministry about our theological diversity. Unitarian Universalists who have a faith in God express to me their sense of alienation in our churches; while those who long ago gave up the concept of a god tell me they feel increasingly alienated by the use of traditional religious language and rituals in worship. Depending on who I’m talking with, there’s either not enough “religious language” or too much of it. People on opposite ends of the theological spectrum – from theists to atheists, from UU Christians to UU Humanists – tell me they often do not feel “at home” here any longer; I hear the pain in their voice, and I feel it in my heart.
For someone who definitely believes in God – no matter how they define that god – it must feel lonely to know the lengths we go sometimes to delete any reference to God in our choir music or hymns. For those who derive comfort from praying, it must feel like something is missing when they come to church and hear no prayers. It cannot be easy being a Unitarian Universalist theist.
On the other hand, for someone who identifies as an atheist, a Humanist, or an agnostic, a Unitarian Universalist church is a “safe harbor.” It is the only Western religious institution that fully accepts them – that affirms non-theism as a viable spiritual path. It takes courage to claim atheism, or even agnosticism, as one’s theology, in a culture which assumes a belief in a deity.
So it may feel like a bit of a betrayal to some Humanists or atheists when, from the pulpit, more traditional religious language is heard. It becomes perhaps even a bit frightening when the President of the denomination begins speaking about the need for a “language of reverence” – exactly what some UUs have told me they’d thought they’d left behind when they became a Unitarian Universalist. It cannot be easy being a Unitarian Universalist Humanist.
Paganism is perhaps the least understood theology, both in the wider society and within our own congregations. Not only do some of our members think of it as “irrational” and “superstitious,” but in the wider world it is still seen as “devil-worshiping” – a view that is 180 degrees away from what it really professes. Witches are still only portrayed as wicked, instead of the healers and wise women of the Pagan tradition. And most of the sacred symbols and practices of that ancient religion have been stolen by the more mainline traditions. It cannot be easy being a Unitarian Universalist Pagan.
But perhaps those Unitarian Universalists who suffer the most alienation in our churches are those who identify as Christians; for too many of us continue to see only the negative traits of Christianity, and do not understand what it meant to our UU ancestors, or what it means to our UU Christian sisters and brothers today. They put up with anti-Christian jokes, assumptions, and stereotypes probably more than any other group in our churches. Rev. Richard Trudeau writes, “Intolerance of Christianity is the wound at the heart of our movement.”
When I asked a colleague who is a UU Christian, why he wouldn’t be more comfortable in a liberal Christian church like United Church of Christ, he told me, with pain on his face, that the question felt much like that often posed to African Americans attending an all-white church: Wouldn’t they feel more comfortable in the Black church down the street? My colleague was a Unitarian Univeralist because of the richness of our diversity; because of the Principles we espouse; because of our affirmation of all life-giving faiths. He was a UU first, and a Christian second. It cannot be easy being a Unitarian Universalist Christian.
Nor is it easy being a religion that honors differences as much as we say we do; that celebrates diversity of theology while still claiming a unity of purpose. It may be that for most of us, our third UU Principle – “acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth” – is the most challenging of them all. I believe that we truly want to live that Principle, but I’m not sure that we all agree on the meaning of it.
This is not new to our movement. Struggling with the question of “who we are religiously as a people” has been a part of our history, both the Unitarian side of it and the Universalist.
In 1840, the Trancendentalists challenged the Unitarians on the importance of the biblical miracles in validating the authority of Jesus. Thirty years later, in the 1870s, the Unitarians were arguing about whether one needed to embrace Christianity in order to be a member or even a minister, or whether commitment to “Unitarian ethics” was all that would be required. And finally, in the 1920s, Unitarians began questioning even the need for a belief in God, as the Humanist movement began to take hold in their churches.
Universalists also have a history of theological wrestling. In the 1830s, some Universalists claimed that God would only grant eternal salvation to people after a period of “testing” in the afterlife, while others insisted that God would save us all immediately upon our death. And a century later, they were questioning whether Christianity was even a viable grounding for their faith.
And then, in the early1950s, the two movements began taking steps towards merging into one denomination – which was not an easy task. For there were still basic theological differences. As stated earlier, Humanism had by this time become a strong presence in the Unitarian movement, while many Universalists were still identifying with the liberal Christian tradition.
There were non-theological issues as well. The Universalist movement was far smaller than the Unitarian, compelling the Universalists, in historian David Robinson’s words, “to battle for their own identity and right to exist.” And I am told that one of the bones of contention was whether “Unitarian” or “Universalist” would appear first in the name of the new denomination – the Universalists worrying that they’d get dropped and forgotten if theirs was the second name. They lost the argument, and they were right; it is very common for people to simply say “Unitarian,” instead of the more cumbersome “Unitarian Universalist.”
By the time of the merger in 1961, the idea had been growing for over a century – which in itself is a testament both to the difficulty of it, and to the tenacity of the vision. For what both denominations held in common from the beginning was a deep faith in the “worth and dignity” of all people, the idea of a benevolent God, and the authority of the individual in matters of the spirit. This common vision was stronger than their differences or fears.
What today is our common vision? What holds the diverse threads together into a cohesive whole? I believe the answer can be found in our Unitarian Universalist Principles, created 20 years ago not by the ordained leaders of the denomination, but by the people in the pews – by some of you sitting here this morning.
The first part of my sermon title this morning comes from our 4th UU Principle: “A free and responsible search for truth and meaning” – one of the values that I believe binds us together despite our differences. It is not true, as some have claimed, that as Unitarian Universalists we can believe anything we want – as if, in the words of the Rev. Paul Carnes, “religious convictions were to be left to…casual whim and wish!” Not only is each of us free to embark on a spiritual journey no matter where it leads us, but we are to take that journey responsibly, with seriousness and honesty. It should be a journey that carries us deeper, perhaps even into unsettling places – a journey that takes courage.
And because that’s what Unitarian Universalism calls us to do, we must also assume that each person’s theological perspective – be it UU Humanism, Paganism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism – has been reached through a serious and honest grappling with religious questions. We may not agree with their conclusion, but we are to respect it, as long as it is informed by and gives life to the Principles of our UU faith.
But we are also bound together by our affirmation of the “inherent worth and dignity of every person.” We see God – the sacred Spirit of Life – the “Ground of Being” – in every human being. Even when we disagree, we are called to acknowledge the worth and dignity of those with whom we disagree, and to engage one another with love and compassion.
And finally, we come together in “acceptance of one another.” It does not mean we need to accept each other’s theological perspectives as our own, but it does mean more than simple “tolerance.” Acceptance is grounded in the acknowledgment of each person’s “worth and dignity;” it puts us on level ground, whereas “tolerance” implies one idea as better than another.
Can Unitarian Universalists believe anything? My response to that question when posed by the person on the phone was that we embrace those ideas that are life-affirming. But perhaps that’s the wrong question anyway. Perhaps what we need to ask is this: Can Unitarian Universalists allow one another to affirm and celebrate our individual spiritual paths? If I am a Humanist, can I allow you to be a Pagan, even if it doesn’t make sense to me? If you are a Christian, can you allow me to be an atheist, even if that bewilders you?
As I said in a sermon I delivered a couple of years ago here (which I’m sure you’ve committed to memory!): “If Unitarian Universalism is about anything, it is about relationship – about speaking our truth with love, and encouraging others to speak theirs….We are called to go beyond our fears and biases,” I said, “and listen to one another, with both an open mind and a loving heart.”
To that end, I am beginning a series of “Faith Dialogues” the first and third Tuesdays of the month. (Please ignore my mistake in the current Leaves, in which I said 2nd & 4th Tuesdays!) The first gathering will be this Tuesday, the 3rd, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., here in the Sanctuary, and they will run through the end of June. These are open to everyone, and while I hope people will come to every session because that will engender deeper dialogue, it is not a requirement. All that is required is a sincere desire to learn, to deepen understanding, to strengthen the “beloved community.”
One of my favorite readings in our Hymnbook is a poem by Marge Piercy, titled “Councils,” in which she writes: “We must sit down and reason together.” She goes on to suggest that “Perhaps we should sit in the dark….In the dark we could not see who speaks, and only the words would say what they say. Thus saying what we feel and what we want, what we fear for ourselves and each other into the dark, perhaps we could begin to begin to listen.”
That’s what I want for us: To “sit down and reason together.” But more than that, I want us to share our faith stories – how our spiritual journeys began and where they have brought us. I want us to listen to one another – to ask honest questions of one another, and to listen to the answers with openness and respect. I want us to be able to say: “This is our shared religious home – a place where our individual stories enrich the whole.”
I do not believe we need do this in the dark. But I do believe that as we dialogue together, we will create a true “beloved community” that shines a light in the darkness, and becomes a beacon of hope and justice for all.
Amen.
© 2005 Anne Felton Hines. All rights reserved.
