I must admit, my experience with at least some Unitarian-Universalists has been somewhat less than positive. For a group that supposedly is built around the toleration of differences, the ones I know tend to be rather critical of those with defined beliefs. I was told that essentially, if I was raised Catholic, the only reason I am Catholic is because I was indoctrinated when I was a child.
Unfortunately, I think many Unitarians have entered the Unitarian Church with rather negative experiences of more defined belief systems; as a result both they and their children tend to have rather negative views of such belief systems. Kind of ironic for a church supposedly built on toleration.
Of course, I think this points out the larger contradiction in American politics where people either agree with you, or they are traitors or nut jobs (depending on which side of the political spectrum you happen to sit).
–
Bill
I’m a former UU who isn’t currently a member. I attend potlucks at the local UU, tho’. It is very successful and growing; it has a woman minister.
UU’s tend to be refugees from other faiths in the same percentage as that faith in the general US population. They are looking for a church-like social structure with Sunday school to learn Bible stories, support and study groups, teen-age activities, etc. They tend to attract divorced persons, families with small children (Sunday school), and older folks. They are white, affluent, well-educated. Not very diverse. UU used to be very intellectual in its preaching–big emphasis on this, in the protestant tradition–now it’s warmer and the churches are designed to be a home-away-from-home like the protestant churches. UU fulfills all the definitions of a denomination. Their ministers go to divinity school and are well educated; they teach comparative religion and ethics and address modern issues. UU’s tend to be white liberals, voting Democratic. They tend to be smug and not very tolerant of other ideas, but are more tolerant of people.
UU started in the 16th c or thereabouts in eastern Europe and included many martyrs. The influences, tho’, go back to the earliest centuries, as UU rejects the trinity, that Jesus was a god, which the earliest ’ heresies’ did.
UU included many of our founding fathers; Thos Jefferson was UU. (Unitarian then). UU has remained small tho’, because of its demographics and because it doesn’t tell you what to do. Most people want a definite answer to life’s problems. Do this and be saved. UU doesn’t do this. People often join UU when they are in transition or need its support; they fall away when they are settled and on their feet, another reason the denomination doesn’t grow much. I started attending the potlucks because I felt that I wasn’t being social enough.
UU includes non-trinitarians of many stripes, Theists, deists, agnostics, atheists, secular Jews and people who just want to socialize, or need to, I guess. But it does include people who believe in a god and those who don’t, but who honor Jesus and his teachings.
