Doug Muder

Three recent books examine fascism as a contemporary phenomenon.

Millions of Humanists celebrate Christmas joyfully, meaningfully, and authentically, without pretending to be Christians or grinchishly trying to take anything away from them.

The realities of an individual life—and of aging—reveal the limits of unlimited growth and expansion.

Seeing my own racism is like any other kind of self-knowledge: Unpleasant, but very real.

Unlike many Unitarian Universalists, I was brought up openly racist. I’ve made progress, and I still have a long way to go.

As national events chip away at my First-Principle practices, I have to wonder: What will be left?

The persistent myth that poor people need less is putting them at risk.

When our values are threatened, a congregation is an anchor against despair.

Three books explore the white working-class experience in America.

A really big decision defies visualization, because the choice itself changes who I will become.

I told our UU middle school ‘Building Bridges’ class that Humanism begins with loving all of our neighbors.

When my end comes, I hope I will have the power to die well.

The doubt industry doesn’t have to convince the public that a product is harmless, only that the harm is in doubt, and the cost of change may be high.

I don’t think of them as beliefs at all.

Demonizing your political opponents doesn’t change anyone’s mind, but empathy can.

There’s a movement that attracts millions of people and encourages them to become their best selves—but it’s not a church.

I found five tags that say “Made in Bangladesh,” but I don’t know what to do next.

We need a secular Easter mythology.

Unitarian Universalism cannot thrive if we don’t at least understand the appeal of religions that give people identity and direction.

All my adult life, I have valued my chosen relationships over the ones I was born into.

Reason needs the energy of passion in order to inspire others.

I remember exactly when I first became afraid of death in a more-than-childish way.

Spirituality is an awareness of the gap between what you can experience and what you can describe.

Why a generation that grew up with Buffy and the Power Rangers will demand a different Unitarian Universalism.

I never rode in a one-horse open sleigh or saw visions of sugarplums dance in my head.

Parenthood makes life serious and challenges you to push past limitations you have accepted too easily. But those issues don’t go away when you decide not to have children.

It was Christmas Eve, a time when any sensible person stays safe in his house with a good book. But then Ben’s reading lamp burned out.

Isn’t religion supposed to be fading away?

When a man fully grasps the continuum of aggression, it’s hard to claim that he’s never played any role in perpetuating it.