Subject:  Is Unitarian Universalism too inclusive? |
Author:
Liberal
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Date Posted: 01:48:04 08/11/04 Wed
In reply to:
Liberal
's message, "Introduction to Unitarian Universalism" on 20:35:24 03/31/04 Wed
Revisiting Unitarian Universalism
By Rich Barlow, Globe Staff, July 17, 2004
It was that great theologian, "Star Trek's" Captain James T. Kirk, who
said that too much of even a good thing can be bad. It's in that spirit
that the Rev. Earl K. Holt III raises a question: Has the Unitarian
Universalist church, renowned for its diversity of religious viewpoints,
gone too far in pursuing diversity?
Holt honors the freedom of conscience that remained a tenet after
Unitarians merged with the Universalist Church to form the Unitarian
Universalist Association in 1961. And yet, he said, "I'm ready to defend
now the hypothesis that Unitarian Universalism as it presently exists is
not in any meaningful way . . . a continuity of either of the
traditions" from which it sprung. Embracing all theological viewpoints
-- "at some point, pandering would not become too strong a word" -- the
UUA has lost the sense of unity that underlies community, Holt argues.
He heads the nine-member Commission on Appraisal, which reports every
four years to the church's annual meeting on important issues. In its
next report, due next year, Holt hopes the commission calls on the UUA
to reexamine its statement of Principles and Purposes. That statement
cites Jewish and Christian teachings, among a half-dozen influences.
"Any average Rotary club in America could probably affirm [them]," Holt
said.
He'd like the church to stress that "this was a biblically centered
faith, and that from that anchor . . . it has sought to be as open as
possible" to other forms of inquiry.
Failing that, a statement that the UUA simply isn't Christian anymore
"might be a cleansing thing to do," he said, acknowledging that few
other commissioners share his view that the church should orbit within
Christianity's gravity.
"I would agree with him that we have grown away from the Jewish and
Christian roots," said the Rev. Tom Owen-Towle, a commissioner from San
Diego. "We have grown beyond them in what I would say is a maturing
process."
Owen-Towle sums up UUA as "free-thinking mystics with hands." By that,
he means the UUA stands on a triad of respect for rational
open-mindedness, spirituality, and compassionate service to others.
To some, this may seem a tempest in a denominational teapot. Claiming
about 215,000 members in the United States, the UUA ranks 46th in size
among denominations that report their numbers to the National Council of
Churches. But in an era of explosive growth for conservative and
evangelical churches, the UUA is the one mainline denomination to have
stabilized its membership, while others have decreased or collapsed
entirely.
Rich Barlow can be reached at rbarlow.81@alum.dartmouth.org.
C Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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