The right words to describe Unitarian Universalism, and more

A denomination or a religion?

A debate evolved among the bloggers about how whether Unitarian Universalism should be characterized as a religion or as a denomination, and whether Unitarian Universalism should be described as a Christian or non-Christian entity.

It began with a response to Aaron Sawyer's video ad promoting Unitarian Universalism. The video displays the names of famous Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists throughout history, with the tagline "What do these people have in common? They're Unitarian Universalists. Are you?"

Joel Monka at "CUUMBAYA" offered this correction:

The Unitarian Universalist Association was created in 1961- only four people in that list lived beyond that date. The others may have been Unitarians, (although technically, some of them must have been Congregationalists, as the AUA wasn't formed until 1825), or they may have been Universalists, but they weren't Unitarian Universalists . . .

What is this tendency we have to claim any celebrity in all of history who doesn't have a formal declaration of belief in the Nicean Creed on record as one of ours? . . . Whatever it is, I wish we'd stop; there's plenty to be proud of in the UUA's short history, and we should be touting that- we don't need to borrow glory from predecessors who may or may not even agree with what we are today. (July 11, 2008)

At his "Discover UU" blog, Sawyer responded, emphasizing that Unitarian Universalism is a religion, not a denomination:

My reasoning that UUs should embrace our celebrity ancestry is that this lore brings validity, inspiration and identity to an obscure, nebulous, and dying religion . . . It's easier to attend "The church of Thomas Jefferson" than it is to go to "some hippie church some weirdos started in the woods." Am I right?

Also, I do object to using the term 'denomination' to describe UUism. Denomination of what? While Christians comprise a large portion of our membership, we've clearly outgrown our Christian ancestry and do not formally identify as a Christian organization in any modern UUA documentation I've seen. (July 11, 2008)

The Rev. Fred Hammond chimed in at "A Unitarian Universalist Minister in Mississippi," agreeing with Sawyer that Unitarian Universalism is not a denomination, and not a Christian entity:

If we see ourselves as a denomination that means that we are a denomination of a specific faith tradition such as Christianity. Yet, we no longer identify as a Christian faith. We may have people who honor their Christian heritage and identify as Christian but Unitarian Universalism is not a Christian faith. (July 13, 2008)

But over at "Boy in the Bands," the Rev. Scott Wells was not persuaded, and argued that describing Unitarian Universalism as a non-Christian faith excludes Christian Unitarian Universalists:

I know that most Unitarian Universalist aren't Christian and perhaps don't want to be. But if so many people are pining for the hundreds of thousands of "lost" Unitarian Universalists that the recent Pew study suggests live in the United States — of which we know almost nothing — then who's to say that there's not a significant corpus of silent and unknown Unitarian and Universalist Christians out there, perhaps even a majority? Or more to the point, I’m hacked off that it's acceptable to verbally minimize the import of Unitarian and Universalist Christians and not expect pushback . . . (July 14, 2008)

Jaume of "UU Without Borders" commented on Wells's post, taking the conversation in a new direction by arguing that Unitarian Universalism's disunity hinders its relevance:

Unitarian Universalists always say that they want to be relevant in "the world" . . . But, who can speak on behalf of American Unitarian Universalism in the international arena? The President? The Board? Congregation by congregation? Any individual? Unless American UUism makes a decision about whether they are a single body, or a conglomeration of congregations, associations, or religions, it will be hard to be relevant and to speak with a single, consistent voice. (July 15, 2008)

This comment led Bill Baar to suggest that perhaps unity is not essential to relevance:

We're relevant without speaking in a single or consistent voice. Why should UUA latch relevancy to unity, or need a single and consistent voice? And who would enforce that single voice consistent over time? Unitarianism has hardly been that and many Liberals would argue progress is all about the evolution (change) of that voice over time. Tomorrow's voice carries more wisdom than yesterday's and change is good. (July 15, 2008)

Dealing with rejection

Karen Rayne at "Adolescent Sexuality by Dr. Karen Rayne" responds to a father's worry about his son's romantic break-ups:

It's good for teenagers to learn how to handle re-grouping after a rejection. And it's also good for teenagers to learn how to make a considered rejection.

There are lots of times that we get rejected. It can be by a love-interest, by a college, by a publishing agent, by potential job, by a current job (getting fired or "reassigned"). And learning how to hold on to your self-compassion through such an event is critical. Adolescence is a pretty good time to learn - the stakes aren't as high as with a marriage or a career. It still hurts . . . But it also teaches re-grouping skills in a very effective, hands-on way. (July 14, 2008)

Second acts

Real Anonymous at "it's five o'clock somewhere" continues the conversation about ethical eating as the next Congregational Study/Action Issue (discussed in last week's "Interdependent Web"):

It never ceases to amaze me how UUs continue to find ways to make themselves irrelevant to more and more groups of people . . .

[I]f we're going to talk about ethical eating/food production, we need to remember that for a sizable portion of this country, food is being priced out of their reach. Especially fresh fruits and vegetables. And all these wonderful upper-class hippy ideas of co-ops and going local is just not possible for a number of people in this country. (July 13, 2008)

Not to be missed

Plaidshoes of "Everyday Unitarian" considers how congregations can reach out to victims of domestic violence. At "Surviving the Workday," Stephanie Anagnoson advises readers on giving praise in professional settings. And at "Love Through Action," Lizard Eater continues to spotlight readers' acts of kindness, which have been inspired by Lizard Eater's daughter's struggle with cancer.