Subject:
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Unitarian Universalism (was Re: Separation of Church and State)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 11 Jun 2003 00:00:53 GMT
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Viewed:
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278 times
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Dave Schuler wrote:
> I'm not trying to be funny, but *is* there a UU religious symbol?
http://www.uua.org/CONG/blue.gif (color doesn't matter) is a pretty
universal UU symbol.
This page: http://www.uua.org/aboutuu/ is a good place to start and
exploration.
> My
> experience with that faith is extremely limited, so I don't know anything about
> its symbology. I will say, however, that within a one-week period last year I
> attended a Catholic wedding and a UU wedding. Each included the equivalent of a
> mass and a homily. The former was overwhelmingly guilt-ridden, misogynistic,
> and generally depressing. The latter was life-affirming, uplifting, and
> welcoming. The only criticism (and it's a minor one) that I could even offer,
> based on my brief exposure to UU, is that it didn't seem to provide any sort of
> definable, solid base. I always thought of that sort of foundation as a main
> purpose of religion, so I was interested and surprised to learn otherwise. It
> gave a very strong sense of community, however.
There is actually a pretty strong base, it's just that it's somewhat
fluid. While UUism is talked about as a "creedless" faith, in practice,
there is a common foundation. What makes it hardest for most to
understand is that the foundation does not include a definition of "god"
(or lack thereof). The foundation is rooted in moral principles. There
is a commonly accepted set of principles:
1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in
our congregations;
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within
our congregations and in society at large;
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a
part.
A key aspect is that UUs are expected to come to their own conclusions
about what is right (principle #4 above).
For myself, I see principle #1 as the keystone. Principle #2 is pretty
obvious. If you fundamentally respect everyone, then you should grant
everyone justice, equity, and compassion. For #3, well, if you
fundamentally respect everyone, then you should also encourage them to
find their correct path. For #4, obviously if #3 applies to others, it
should apply to everyone, including yourself. #5 says that decision
making processes must respect everyone. #6 says that this all applies to
everyone in the world. #7 says it applies to more than just humans.
To me an intersting point is that point #1 also seems to be the basis of
Libertarianism. When I think about it, it really isn't too surprising
that there might be a connection there since the Unitarian movement (and
to perhaps a lesser extent, the Universalist movement) was forming at
the same time as our nation was forming, and many people were involved
in both processes (Thomas Jefferson for one who is most often pointed
out as a founder of Libertarianism). These close ties actually make me
laugh a bit when I see the "return to the faith of our founding
fathers!" calls. People who make those calls might want to examine more
closely the ideas the founding fathers had, and the faith that descended
from those ideas...(Though I should also point out that Unitarianism at
that time was also pretty Christian).
I always have trouble defining what it really means to be a UU, but
having become involved now in two different UU churches as an adult
after growing up UU, and having visited several others, I can definitely
say that I have always felt that the particular expressions in those
churches was a close match for my own. I would actually say that my
biggest point of disagreement with other UUs is just what the first
principle means, and that it really supports a more Libertarian
viewpoint than the socialist viewpoint often espoused by UUs. If we
really accept all those points, what right do we have to tell others how
to spend their money? Shouldn't we have faith that they will make good
decisions? Part of the problem I feel is that unfortunately most UUs
didn't grow up in the faith.
Frank
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Separation of Church and State
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| (...) In my slightly rural high school, Thanksgiving vacation included the following Monday. This was widely considered to be due to the fact that buck hunting season began on that day, so a great number of kids would skip school anyway. Your point (...) (21 years ago, 10-Jun-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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