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Author Topic: Unitarian Universalism  (Read 2328 times)

Demophon

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Unitarian Universalism
« on: December 29, 2016, 10:37:49 pm »
The UU Church is starting to appeal to me, as they seem to be a sensible kind of tradition that is inclusive of all spiritual paths and all kinds of people, united by shared values but fairly open to diverse beliefs and spiritual practices.

What holds me back from pursuing further investigation (aside from working towards a theology degree in a Catholic institution, and being pretty involved in my RC parish) is that they strike me as being rather liturgically Protestant, and coming from an orthodox Catholic and Anglican background, the idea of Unitarian Christianity makes me cringe a bit, but I guess they aren't strictly Christian necessarily.

Does anyone have experience with them? I imagine there is a lot of overlap between UU and modern pagan values.

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Re: Unitarian Universalism
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2016, 12:59:05 am »
Quote from: Demophon;200591
Does anyone have experience with them? I imagine there is a lot of overlap between UU and modern pagan values.

My understanding is that this varies a lot depending on the congregation. Some are pretty close to their Christian roots, some are very humanist. Many have a mix that includes pagans, Buddhists and other faith influences.

I've been to service at several different congregations and I think the only way to decide if you get on with a particular one is to attend a handful of services and see if you get something out if them more than not.

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Re: Unitarian Universalism
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2016, 02:38:31 am »
Quote from: Demophon;200591
What holds me back from pursuing further investigation (aside from working towards a theology degree in a Catholic institution, and being pretty involved in my RC parish) is that they strike me as being rather liturgically Protestant, and coming from an orthodox Catholic and Anglican background, the idea of Unitarian Christianity makes me cringe a bit, but I guess they aren't strictly Christian necessarily.

Does anyone have experience with them? I imagine there is a lot of overlap between UU and modern pagan values.

 
Well, you'll have to get your 'smells and bells' somewhere else most of the time. ('Most of the time', because you might well get opportunities there for pagan or Buddhist, or other non-Christian, smells and bells.)

They're 'liturgically Protestant' compared to Catholicism and Anglicanism, definitely - the Unitarians come out of the anti-trinitarian strand of the protest theology movement; the Universalists also emerged from the Radical Reformation. But that has more to do with their history than their present; by the time the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged in 1961 to form the UUA, both denominations had become more humanist than specifically Christian. (Individual congregations might be more Christian in their approach, and Unitarians outside North America are often much closer to, or still firmly within, their Christian origins.)

I have the same understanding Jack does, that there's a lot of variation in individual congregations, though no personal experience with it since Calgary only has one UU church. I see that you have a wider range of options, though. (You might already have found that site, but I figured I'd link it just in case you hadn't.)

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Re: Unitarian Universalism
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2016, 02:33:03 pm »
Quote from: Demophon;200591
What holds me back from pursuing further investigation (aside from working towards a theology degree in a Catholic institution, and being pretty involved in my RC parish) is that they strike me as being rather liturgically Protestant, and coming from an orthodox Catholic and Anglican background, the idea of Unitarian Christianity makes me cringe a bit, but I guess they aren't strictly Christian necessarily.

Does anyone have experience with them? I imagine there is a lot of overlap between UU and modern pagan values.

 
I'm a member of a UU church.  (I signed the book and everything!)

UUs are Congregationalist churches - they descend, paradoxically, from the Puritans.  It is a point of faith, basically, that every Congregationalist church is answerable first and primarily to its own congregation (hence the name), which is how they evolved into the UUA.  This means that each UU parish has a very distinct flavor, depending on the people there, the ministerial staff, and so on.

For example, when I was first looking into UU churches, I checked out Welcoming (queer-friendly) churches in my immediate area; one of them noted on its website that its congregation was primarily Christian and Jewish, and I said sight unseen that I did not think that would be a good fit for me.  The other one (which I have since joined) said it had 'Christians, Jews, Buddhists, agnostics, theists and atheists', and spoke extensively of its music program, and has the senior minister's bio including things like "apprentice to a Mexican curandera" in among his more normal CV items.

UUism is not Christian, though some UUs are, and some UU congregations may be, like the one I didn't check out, basically Abrahamic in focus.  I expect the overwhelming majority of UU churches will mark major Christian holidays, given the pedigree of the religion; they will also mark other things, depending on the needs and interest of the congregation.  There is no fixed liturgical year, as far as I'm aware.

The core thing about UUs, I think, is that when it works well (and it does not always do so) the central focus of devotional activity is towards human community, both congregational and in the world at large.  I have commented a number of itmes that it's nice to go somewhere once a week and listen to someone else talking about ma'at.

But, again, a lot depends on personal mesh with the egregore of the particular parish.
as the water grinds the stone
we rise and fall
as our ashes turn to dust
we shine like stars    - Covenant, "Bullet"

Demophon

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Re: Unitarian Universalism
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2017, 08:03:33 pm »
Quote from: Jack;200651
My understanding is that this varies a lot depending on the congregation. Some are pretty close to their Christian roots, some are very humanist. Many have a mix that includes pagans, Buddhists and other faith influences.

I've been to service at several different congregations and I think the only way to decide if you get on with a particular one is to attend a handful of services and see if you get something out if them more than not.

That makes sense.
 
Quote from: SunflowerP;200657
Well, you'll have to get your 'smells and bells' somewhere else most of the time. ('Most of the time', because you might well get opportunities there for pagan or Buddhist, or other non-Christian, smells and bells.)

Ugh, I wish my RC parish itself had more bells and smells. Well, they do have bells, but not enough smells for my liking. The priests there are mostly elderly, and they must have lived through the Vatican II reforms and have some strange backlash to traditional liturgy, because most of them complain a lot about incense and won't use it. What's the point of liturgy without incense? :cry:

Quote from: SunflowerP;200657
They're 'liturgically Protestant' compared to Catholicism and Anglicanism, definitely - the Unitarians come out of the anti-trinitarian strand of the protest theology movement; the Universalists also emerged from the Radical Reformation. But that has more to do with their history than their present; by the time the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged in 1961 to form the UUA, both denominations had become more humanist than specifically Christian. (Individual congregations might be more Christian in their approach, and Unitarians outside North America are often much closer to, or still firmly within, their Christian origins.)

I have the same understanding Jack does, that there's a lot of variation in individual congregations, though no personal experience with it since Calgary only has one UU church. I see that you have a wider range of options, though. (You might already have found that site, but I figured I'd link it just in case you hadn't.)

Sunflower

Oh okay, interesting. Thanks.
 
Quote from: Darkhawk;200693
The core thing about UUs, I think, is that when it works well (and it does not always do so) the central focus of devotional activity is towards human community, both congregational and in the world at large.  I have commented a number of itmes that it's nice to go somewhere once a week and listen to someone else talking about ma'at.

Yeah, community is important, and when it comes down to it, it's the main thing I'm looking for. I like the people at my current parish a lot, but I don't always feel so comfortable with the institution, so I don't know how long I will be able to handle it. High ceremonial is nice, but I think I get more out of meditation than active ritual, and community is much more valuable than good liturgy.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2017, 08:04:10 pm by Demophon »

MabSolana

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Re: Unitarian Universalism
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2017, 03:13:04 am »
Quote from: Demophon;200591

Does anyone have experience with them? I imagine there is a lot of overlap between UU and modern pagan values.


Being originally from a Southern town, when you looked into churches or gathering places they were not a lot of options. Yes, churches, but only Christian ones. In high school I was allowed to make my own decision on what I wanted to believe, and after doing some research, I found a single UU congregation in my area. I had a good time there, and met many very cool people. They let me learn and many helped me find new resources for my spiritual study.
Each place will be different, but I definitely suggest looking into it and perhaps going at least once to feel the place out.
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