Athiest Churches?

[james_dillaplai]

i have seen athiest churches (new age churches maybe?) if anyone here knows what happens in those churches. i think the official name for their churches are unitarian universalist churches. the reason i ask is what exactly do they do in there, if they dont believe in a god what do they worship?

 

[LDNCatholic]

i have seen athiest churches (new age churches maybe?) if anyone here knows what happens in those churches. i think the official name for their churches are unitarian universalist churches. the reason i ask is what exactly do they do in there, if they dont believe in a god what do they worship?

As far as I know they sort of get to believe what they want. Seems wierd to me, we don’t have too many of those folk here in the UK.

 

[mikew262]

From what I know, the Unitarians are kind of a hodge-podge of different beliefs. They’ve become disgruntled with their native faith for some reason, and the Unitarian Church has become kind of a refuge for them. I’m not sure calling them an atheist church is quite accurate.

 

[LDNCatholic]

Nicked this from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism#General_beliefs_of_UUs

General beliefs of UUs

Unitarian Universalists (UUs) believe in complete but responsible freedom of speech, thought, belief, faith, and disposition. They believe that each person is free to search for his or her own personal truth on issues like the existence, nature, and meaning of life, deities, creation, and afterlife. UUs can come from any heritage, have any sexual identity, and hold beliefs from a variety of cultures or religions.

Concepts about deity are diverse among UUs. Some believe that there is no god (atheism); others believe in many gods (polytheism). Some believe that God is a metaphor for a transcendent reality. Some believe in a female god (goddess), a passive god (Deism), a Christian god, or a god manifested in nature or one which is the “ground of being”. Some UUs reject the idea of deities and instead speak of “universal spirit” or “reverence of life”. Unitarian Universalists support each person’s search for truth and meaning in concepts of deity.

 

[Kaninchen]

As far as I know they sort of get to believe what they want. Seems wierd to me, we don’t have too many of those folk here in the UK.

In the UK they attend churches with names like ‘B&Q’, ‘Homebase’, ‘Tesco’, ‘Sainsburys’, ‘The White Lion’, ‘The Green Man’, ‘Old Trafford’ and ‘Stamford Bridge’.

But so do religious people.

 

[LDNCatholic]

In the UK they attend churches with names like ‘B&Q’, ‘Homebase’, ‘Tesco’, ‘Sainsburys’, ‘The White Lion’, ‘The Green Man’, ‘Old Trafford’ and ‘Stamford Bridge’.

But so do religious people.

Haha fair enough

 

[Kaninchen]

Haha fair enough

Nobody goes far wrong being cynical about Brits!

I wonder how long it will be before there’s a St B&Q holiday instead of Easter (or whatever) because that’s where the queues are!

 

[QuicumqueVult]

As far as I know they sort of get to believe what they want. Seems wierd to me, we don’t have too many of those folk here in the UK.

Sounds rather like the Church of England. It has no doctrine either, whether de fide (of the faith) or de moribus (of morals). In fact, if someone presumes to claim anything that ‘all Anglicans must believe’, he or she will likely be scorned by some as intolerant. In its attempt to be a politically and religiously neutral Established Church for everyone, eg the Elizabethan Settlement, it has ceased to offer anything specifically Christian to anyone, having no dogmas. Even the Creeds are not enforcible. Anglican Bishops have denied the Trinity, the Resurrection,. et al, without consequence. That means those denials are acceptable for Anglicans.

Everyone decides for him- or herself what’s right. They hide behind a sort of tacit sola scriptura argument for authority, but in the end, having no confessional theology, apart a dated Calvinist diatribe called ‘The Articles of Religion’ (variously permutated), they are no different than New Age or Unitarian Universalists. Or Buddhists come to that.

Mind you most Anglicans aren’t atheists though they can’t be bothered to explain why they believe. Again, it’s all about personal faith and no pontificating please, which in a culture which considers discussing religion incivil, it’s also politically correct to believe for no reason that one can explain. One mustn’t explain. Evangelical Anglicans do, of course, but it isn’t characteristic of Anglicanism as such. And Evangelicals are a bit of a bore, really. And just about all Anglo-Catholics who believe in Catholic faith and morals have left for Rome or are in the process of converting.

Case in point. Two atheists, who have never been previously married, and who live – doubtless cohabiting – in their legally defined Anglican parish, are entitled by law to a Christian marriage in their parish church by a CofE priest. Neither belief nor baptism is required. A previous marriage is not an obstacle if the Vicar approves the remarriage. At his or her discretion. Yes, each Vicar is a Marriage Tribunal. Just as each Anglican is his own magisterium and Pope.

So, to answer your question, Anglicanism. being – by law --tolerant to the option of atheism as just another expression of religious belief, is therefore, tacitly, an Atheist Church (though, again, most practising Anglicans are not atheists).

 

[Qwikness]

From what I’ve seen The Unitarian Universalist are sort of liberal. They seem smarter than everybody else. It seems like all of them have PhD’s They are interested in other cultures and transcends to those culture’s religions. They often have a guest preacher that explains the tradtions of their specific faith particularly during a holiday. More or less Syncretism, they have a common denominator god and doctrine . sort of “do unto others…” Live and let live" “to each his own”

 

[puzzleannie]

returning to topic of OP, Unitarians in this country are descendents of numerous quasi-religious social movements in our history, usually in New England, the most influential being Transcendentalism (Thoreau, Emerson, Alcott et al). Not all Unitarians are Universalist, UU is a 20th c amalgam, with non-credal open belief system, the only unitive core being a belief in some transcendental reality and rejection of the Trinitarian nature of God as defined by Christianity.

 

[Qwikness]

returning to topic of OP…Not all Unitarians are Universalist,

Yes, but the OP said specifically UU. Which believes in everything and nothing.

 

[QuicumqueVult]

I suppose at this juncture it might be interesting to get some discussion going about this question, unless it’s a complete non sequitur:

What is the difference between Unitarianism (Universalist or otherwise) and monotheism?

 

[Qwikness]

What is the difference between Unitarianism (Universalist or otherwise) and monotheism?

I think all the difference in the world. Unitarianism can have Monotheism among the many other religious traditions. They bring many traditions to the table. Shinto, Buddah, Gaia, Christianity, Protestant etc. Judaism, Atheist, Aliens
There probably hasn’t been a religion invented that it doesn’t welcome.I don’t know about Satanism.

From their website uua.org/visitors/beliefswithin/index.shtml
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion that encompasses many faith traditions. Unitarian Universalists include people who identify as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, and others. As there is no official Unitarian Universalist creed, Unitarian Universalists are free to search for truth on many paths.

 

[CarrieH]

As one who was raised in a UU church, I’ll share my perspective: the UU church is “creedless,” and as a church, they don’t believe much of anything. My parents took us there because they were non-religious but wanted us to have some sort of “church” experience (why, I haven’t a clue). Some UU churches are sort of pantheistic, but this one was very much secular humanist. At the time, they had a hymnal of sorts, but much of it was made up of common hymn tunes with different texts, praising such things as nature, free thinking, etc. One of the more “conservative” UU churches in a neighboring city would actually have a prayer (gasp!), but it was very non-specific to whom or what they were praying. Our church never prayed. They would have lectures and discussions of various moral and ethical issues, but it was more of an intellectual and philosophical group than religious. Many of the members were faculty at the local university who were too “intelligent” or “educated” (in their minds) for traditional “religion.” My father was a scientist who fit that profile. He was very much into “free thinking,” but imagine his dismay when his free-thinking daughter chose the Catholic Church!

 

[inthecloud]

The Unitarian Universalist are not a rare pheomena.
In France there used to be a deist church to the goddess reason.
Latter philosopher Augustus Comte created a Positivist Church devoted to science, reason and the betterment of humanity complete with liturgy (reading scientific tracts) a homily and sacraments! There are remants of that church in Brasil.
There is Unitarian Chruch in my country, I’m going to check them out.
The Church of England and many mainstream
protestant denominations seen to be getting there.

In the UK they attend churches with names like ‘B&Q’, ‘Homebase’, ‘Tesco’, ‘Sainsburys’, ‘The White Lion’, ‘The Green Man’, ‘Old Trafford’ and ‘Stamford Bridge’.

I also would like to check that megachurch at Anfield Road.

 

[Quackers]

i have seen athiest churches (new age churches maybe?) if anyone here knows what happens in those churches. i think the official name for their churches are unitarian universalist churches. the reason i ask is what exactly do they do in there, if they dont believe in a god what do they worship?

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is a liberal religious body that allows for total freedom of belief. While some individual UU’s are atheist, it isn’t completely accurate to call UU congregations atheist. Unitarian Universalists have beliefs that range from Christian to Wiccan to Buddhist to Hindu to New Age to atheist. I’ve even met some Unitarian Universalists who adhere to some Muslim beliefs. The Unitarian Universalist congregations here where I live use a wide variety of religious texts in their worship services, ranging from the Bible to the Qu’ran to the Bhagavad Gita. Sometimes, no religious texts at all are used. The congregations here even celebrate a wide range of religious holidays, from Christmas to Chanukah to Ramadan to Samhain. Unitarian Universalism basically instructs its adherents to follow whatever spiritual paths are right for them.

 

[Quackers]

As one who was raised in a UU church, I’ll share my perspective: the UU church is “creedless,” and as a church, they don’t believe much of anything. My parents took us there because they were non-religious but wanted us to have some sort of “church” experience (why, I haven’t a clue). Some UU churches are sort of pantheistic, but this one was very much secular humanist. At the time, they had a hymnal of sorts, but much of it was made up of common hymn tunes with different texts, praising such things as nature, free thinking, etc. One of the more “conservative” UU churches in a neighboring city would actually have a prayer (gasp!), but it was very non-specific to whom or what they were praying. Our church never prayed. They would have lectures and discussions of various moral and ethical issues, but it was more of an intellectual and philosophical group than religious. Many of the members were faculty at the local university who were too “intelligent” or “educated” (in their minds) for traditional “religion.” My father was a scientist who fit that profile. He was very much into “free thinking,” but imagine his dismay when his free-thinking daughter chose the Catholic Church!

This sounds similar to the UU congregations here. They have prayers, but they’re very general. Their prayers are to a “higher power” or nameless “deity.” I read in the 12th edition of “The Handbook of Denominations of the United States” that the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship has officially disassociated itself from Christianity, which is why they now use the term “Fellowship” instead of “Church” and the term “congregation” or “fellowship” instead of “church.” The UU congregations here contain a lot of Wiccans and gays.