A post on UU

[Ranec]

I liked wildflower's idea about posts on the various faiths and churches that we are each involved in.

I have been attending a Unitarian Universalist congregation, but I am by no means an expert on their origins and history or even their structure.
So I'll say what it means to me, and then invite other UU's to reply with better descriptions and more information.

The UU's are unusual for a church in that they have what I like to think of as a flexible dogma. Each person is encouraged to find his/her own unique spiritual path. In fact, this group is very much in that spirit. Ideas from all of the worlds faith traditions are explored because they all contain essential wisdom.

There is an underlying belief in love and acceptance of all people. The Universalists believed that all people would be saved, and not just a chosen few. But many UU's don't agree with any notion of salvation at all.

I think each UU finds something different in the church, and I find a great deal of spiritual solace from the group. It is the interconnected nature of the world that appeals to me on a deep level, and keeps me going back on Sunday mornings.

Plus, I've made some friends there. :-)

I heard someone once say that UU's are the church of the dislocated. People who no longer feel able to attend their traditional religious, but are looking for something to connect them to their new community.

So, other UU's out there, what do you think?

[davidinalameda]

1. I just started attending a UU in Oakland

started in December and I love it

I feel so at home there and the energy is incredible

I read "A Chosen Faith" before I started attending--read it long before I started and it gives a good intro to the history of the denomination

and the website has great background as well

[Maat]

3. Thanks, dwickham.

I think that I will look that book up. Dr. Wayne Dyer's teachings are based on our 'new thought' teachings (CRS, Unity), at least part of them.

"How to Speak Religious Science," by Dennis Merritt Jones, is a good one for CRS.

It seems like the progressive faiths have even evolved to be more modern and liberal as time has marched on.

[Maat]

2. Thanks, Ranec!

I would love to hear about what you and dwickham have experienced at UU! I want to learn everything I can about it. I took the beliefnet test, and came out 100% UU, philosophically-speaking.

I have attended UU services, although the church is 45 minutes away from me.

My personal thing is Church of Religious Science (it is very similar to UU in many ways).

Things in common: (between UU and CRS)
1) congregants/attendees are encouraged to find their own spiritual path,
2) and underlying belief in love and acceptance of all people,
3) a belief in interconnectedness of all life,
4) we don't believe in salvation at all, and
5) an outreach to and acceptance of (celebration of) all.

Things maybe not 'in common' (I'm still investigating).
1) We believe that God is within us all, and every living thing, and that we are each segments of God, so-to-speak (although one may call 'God' anything one wants, such as 'Goddess,' 'Interconnectedness,' or 'the Cosmic Muffin.' I prefer 'Spirit' or 'One Energy.' I just learned that much of our new thought faith is based on Hindu teachings. I don't think UUers are that specific. The UU service felt looser.
2) We have a specific method of prayer, called spiritual mind treatment (don't let the name scare you) that is really a form of visualization (of goal)/meditation, which we end with 'and it is so!'
The UUers are more free-form with a moment of silence.

I love both faiths very much. And I want to learn everything I can about each.

I liked the social activism at the UU church I attended (in a liberal area). My CRS church, near my home, is in a fairly conservative area for Southern Cal, and my pastor (a really neat 60's gal - as in middle-ager who loved the 60's) is careful to stay neutral, and not offend either the progressive or the conservative. So, that is unique. Some CRS churches are very activist.

I would like to see everyone join up with a progressive faith, such as UU, CRS, Unity, Metropolitan Community Church, United Church of Christ, or the Episcopal. I know there are many more. One of my friends attends a very modern synagogue.

My favorite thing is to hear others' experiences, so, I thank you for sharing.

[elshiva]

4. Maat, please explain "we don't believe in salvation at all"

What do you mean by this confusing statement? I thought UU and CRS believe in universal salvation.

[Maat]

5. We don't believe in the conventional 'heaven' and 'hell.'

We believe that they states-of-mind that one creates for oneself here. We dont' have any real dogma as to what happens to one's energy after death - other than it moves on. Some believe that one's unique personality-energy is preserved, so-to-speak and moves on to another life (incarnation), for example; this is what I believe.

Being that there is no conventional idea re Heaven, there is no need for salvation. Looking at it from another perspective, however, since I believe we all move on to 'greater things,' I guess one could say that I do believe in universal salvation (moving on for everyone toward Enlightenment), in a way.


But, we definitely don't believe that one has to do this or that to get to a Heaven in the Clouds, with a Harsh, Judgmental, Scary Dude awaiting me at the Gates (like my very fundamentalist evangelical rightwing Baptist friends and relatives believe). (I'm not trying to be offensive, but when discussing these complex concepts, sometimes my words fail me).

We believe that every living thing is divine; we are all equally divine.

I just looked up 'salvation' in my Church of Religious Science/New-Thought Dictionary. Salvation refers to 'the conscious realization of the omnipresence of Spirit.'

'Saviour' refers to the 'recognition of .. Sprit as All in All.'

I don't believe that UU firmly establishes what happens to one after death. Of course, if one is a Christian, and a UU-er, and one believed in salvation, I bet that the belief would be in universal salvation.

Take Care!

[elshiva]

6. Recent Roman Catholic Theology teaches that

Heaven and Hell are modes of existence not places. I do not literally believe in the cartoon heaven of angels dancing on clouds, but I believe that there will be a resurrection of spiritual bodies that will work together to further the Reign of God on earth.
Hell is a completely human fantasy. What god would want to see his children suffer so? No, people make it up to scare people into doing their will. Or they create their own hells by putting others through tortures like Aushwitz and Abu Ghraib.
I sincerely believe that the spirit bodies of heaven will triumph over the torments of hell, for heaven is God, and the unity of all beings. There is love between the Father/Mother and His/Her creation that is truly life-giving.
But hell is divided against itself. The prisoner is against the imprisoned and only God with the resurrected will go their ransom.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. UU thoughts are similar to mine

I've read through the threads here and agree about UU's concept of salvation. Actually, when I took the belief test and came out UU too!

[davidinalameda]

8. UUs don't necessarily believe in salvation

because not all UUs are theists

there are humanist, atheist, etc UUs

[Az]

9. UU Spoken here

Been a member (not always in attendence though) for about 15 years.

[Tux]

10. UUism

To me, seems like the scientific method for religion. Call it the spiritual method if you will but it has the great feature of trying new ideas, helping others, and creating a better spiritual community.