The recent tragedy in Knoxville, and the discussion of it here, has lead me to believe that Unitarian Universalism, the religion in which I was raised, is the subject of some curiosity here. I'd like to provide anyone interested with a quick and easy introduction.
I want to make some things perfectly clear:
I am NOT trying to capitalize, in any way, on the tragedy in Knoxville. Tithing is just one of many traditional religious behaviors whose value UU's, erm, question. But the reality is that the Knoxville shooting IS being discussed, and in the course of those discussions i see both curiosity and misperceptions about UU-ism. That discussion is going on now and will continue whether I contribute to it or not. Therefore, I intend to contribute something positive.
I am NOT try to proselytize or convert. Wherever you go to church, whatever your beliefs are, as long as they don't involve hurting people, is JUST FINE with me.
I AM trying to explain and inform. And, to any who are interested, I extend a welcome. To those who are not, have a nice day, and I will see you in other discussions.
To start with, wikipedia contains a great deal of information about Unitarian Universalism. I intend this diary to be much shorter.
The closest thing that UU's have to a creed is called "the seven purposes and principles". They are as follows:
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.
Some other facts:
The modern UU church was created from the merger of two previous churches, the Unitarian and the Universalist.
Unitarians and Universalists in history include: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Pete Seeger, Ben Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Paine, Charles Dickens, Susan B. Anthony, Sylvia Plath, Tim Berners-Lee, and Isaac Newton. I bring them up, not out of some sense of "oh, look how awesome we are", but because of the creedless nature of UU-ism. It's often easier to get a sense of what UU-ism amounts to, spiritually, to observe the works of its adherents.
UU congregations actively welcome members of almost any faith to attend. We do not require that you renounce any other religious beliefs to be welcomed into our church, unless they conflict with the 7 P+P's as mentioned above. We do not welcome, for example, those who practice human or animal sacrifice, or those who believe a particular race to be subhuman in nature. We do welcome, in alphabetical order, Agnostics, Atheists, Buddhists, Christians, Daoists, Hindus, Humanists (secular and otherwise), Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Pastafarians, Rastafarians, and Zoroastrians. And many, many others.
Some personal beliefs of my own inspired and informed by my experience in the UU church:
The questions are just as important as the answers. Sometimes they're more important. The God I know is not scared of questions. We shouldn't be either.
We are not here for anything to be easy. We are here to face the choice between doing good or ill. In any situation of choice between right and wrong, figure out what's the hardest thing to do. It's usually the right thing to do as well.
There has never been a person so bad that they are beyond any kind of redemption. Love can redeem absolutely anybody. Not in a heaven/hell sense of redemption versus damnation, but in a personal, everyday life sense. Love literally saves lives. It's saved mine.
Truth exists, but is usually very, very complicated. Although I cannot provide any proof of this, I believe that all discovery of truth is through means that are mathematical in some way. Math is the language the program of the universe was written in.
Society is an actual biological organism. So is the universe.
Every choice is a choice between fear and love. It is better to choose love.
So there you have it. More information can be found at the the official UUA website. If you feel like stopping by, we'd love to see you. If not, we wish you well.