Reignite

This is the second of my "heretical" Unitarian thoughts. I think what might be the most unhelpful of the orthodoxies of modern Unitarianism is that what really matters is "values." As we have become more doctrinally diverse we have seen "values" as the only thing that can unite us. So we can agree on nothing religious, so we decide we will just agree on basically liberal values of tolerance, gay rights, the environment, etc. We have begun to think this is what matters most in our religious community. You can see this in the language that has been coming out of the leadership of the American UUs recently.  This statement from UUA President Peter Morale s has caused a lot of discussion. In it he notes some interesting points including the fact that a lot more people in America identify as UU than actually go to congregations, and a lot of people who grew up in UU congregations don't continue to attend as adults. This, in a sense, is the inevitable...

I've had some "heretical" thoughts knocking around in my head recently. I think it's time I said some of them. Of course Unitarians claim we embrace heresy, but we have plenty of orthodoxies, some of which may not be helpful, some of which may need challenging. One orthodoxy is "what we're really all about is diversity" - or as the GA website puts it: "Unitarianism is an  open-minded and individualistic  approach to faith that gives scope for a very wide range of beliefs and doubts. Religious freedom for each individual is at the heart of Unitarianism. Everyone has the right to search for meaning in life and reach their own conclusions. Unitarians see diversity and pluralism as valuable rather than threatening. They want faith to be broad, inclusive, and tolerant. Unitarianism can therefore include people who are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Pagan and Atheist." Unitarians want to be "broad, inclusive, and tolerant....