A dramatic moment unfolded on May 23, 1960, for Unitarians and Universalists, two small liberal denominations that had considered a merger for at least a hundred years. Simultaneous sessions of both denominations met in adjoining rooms in John Hancock Hall in Boston. They were connected with a public address system which faltered in the midst of the historic proceedings. Scattered, passionate acrimony remained, but a strong positive vote was given on both sides. Donald Harrington, minister of New York's Community Church, proclaimed that on this day was created "a new world faith" which would stand alongside the other great American religions: Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish -- a bit grandiose for this new denomination, Unitarian Universalism, which numbered at the time a grand total of 141,821 members. The last formal act for consolidation took place on May 12, 1961, at the first annual meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston, when the constitution and by-laws were ratified.
Why had these two small, struggling denominations failed to join before this time? Do they really belong together? Some Universalists, who were ever more pious than Unitarians, would still say no. And many Unitarians have little understanding of what Universalists brought to the union, and so do precisely what the Universalists feared: disregard the Universalist heritage, referring to the denomination simply as "Unitarian."
The main problem with the merger always lay with the Universalists. They were the smaller of the two groups, with fewer resources and less stability. In fact, at the time of the merger, they brought only 36,864 members to the joint membership, about 25 percent of the total. But the domination of the Unitarians was not merely numerical -- there were class differences which had kept the two groups apart. Both groups emerged about the same time in this country -- at the end of the 18th century -- and both had roots in England, but the Unitarians came from upper-middle class stock, and the Universalists tended to be from rural areas and were less well educated. Their worship styles were different, too, the Unitarians tending toward the cool and intellectual, while the Universalists were warm and emotive. As one anti-merger Universalist put it, the Unitarians seemed more interested "in analyzing the nature of infinity ... than in the spirit of love. I ... feel that I ought to put on my company manners when I go into a Unitarian Church."
Nevertheless, the two groups had much in common. Most significantly, each was a free faith, with no creed, and both had a strong policy of congregational autonomy. They were compatible theologically, though each brought a different emphasis. The Unitarians brought the concept of "one God" rather than the Trinitarian God of conventional Christian churches. Too liberal for both Calvin and Luther, they had come out of the left wing of the Protestant Reformation, and were adamant that each person must be free to follow the dictates of conscience. The Universalists, who believed in the doctrine of universal salvation, were widely known for their tolerance and generosity of spirit. Both groups allowed the umbrella of their religion to encompass an increasingly diverse range of beliefs, including atheists, agnostics, humanists, Jews, as well as Christians. And by the time of their consolidation, the class differences were more historical and perceptual than otherwise, especially in urban settings. The merger, then, was a practical move to strengthen two small denominations that had limited resources. Long in coming, it was the right way to go, not only for pragmatic reasons, but because each faith continues to teach and strengthen the other.
I personally entered the church in the 1970's. Like a majority of the members, I was a "come-outer" from another faith, in my case Southern Baptist. As a newly divorced woman, I no longer felt welcome in the Baptist church, and so I found myself isolated, cut off from my community. One day as I was bemoaning my fate, my therapist said to me, "Why don't you go over to the Unitarian Universalist Church? There are a lot of divorced people over there." In the Baptist church, I could not be a deacon, much less a minister, but the Unitarian Universalists soon engaged me in leadership positions, and six years later, I was on my way to seminary at Starr King School for Religious Leadership in Berkeley, CA.
At that time a kind of cool academic intellectualism characterized the pulpits of many of our churches and fellowships. This approach emerged not only from the Unitarian emphasis on reason, but also from the influence of the Humanist Movement of the 1920's and 1930's, which dominated the lay-led churches that the UUA started from 1948-1967, mainly in university communities. That style began to be questioned as more women and gays and people of color entered our ministry. Newcomers to Unitarian Universalism were looking for more than intellectual searching -- they wanted spirituality. At the same time, many of the come-outers brought with them a fear of religion from their painful growing-up days in more dogmatic churches, so ministers had to work with that fear, reframing conventional theological language so these folks could feel safe to explore new forms of spirituality. Church music moved from the rigidity of all-classical, all the time, to music more ethnically and stylistically diverse.
And so today, we are Unitarian, with a strong emphasis on reason and learning. Our congregants tend to be highly educated and we love ideas. But we are not satisfied to rest there. We are also Universalists, wanting to explore emotional and spiritual depths, wanting to be whole persons, generous and loving and ever more inclusive. Considering population growth, we're not much bigger than we were 50 years ago, for only 0.3 percent of American adults identify as Unitarian Universalists. But we are influential far beyond our numbers, because we are found at the edge of change, wherever change is needed. We are informed, and we are passionate, heartful people. We are Unitarian Universalists, and we belong together.
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Not in Alabama they aren't.
I attend services with people who come from a Christian tradition, a Jewish tradition, a Muslim tradition, a Buddhist tradition, a Hindu tradition, pagan traditions and avowed atheists. I share coffee and chat with heterosexual people, homosexual people and transgendered people.
I am happy to be a UU, one year and counting....
Universal reconcillication, on the other hand, I can see. It was advocated by St. Isaac the Syrian, and early Christian desert father. The love of God is so irresistable that in the end it conquers all.
Since UU membership is available to anyone who signs the membership book, you bring whatever you believe with you. IMHO, however, any beliefs that are contradictory to the best science (Kant's standard) or contradictory to the best philosophy (my standard) are liable to being challenged. A challenge is more a theoretical possibility than a likelihood, however, since a voluntary organization has a hard time handling conflict.
"We are standing on the shoreline of a mountain lake, moonlight lapping against our boot tips, mesmerized by the golden carpet laid out across the lake as if lowered from the heavens just for us to the very place we stand. Before us, along the moon’s glorious trail, we can see all the way to the lake’s rocky bottom. Above the sunken branches, we watch the water dance and sparkle, a rack of moonbeams on each ripple’s crest. Across the lake, where the moon is rising, our path turns to liquid gold.
Standing on the shore some distance to our right a man contemplates the same view, yet appears shrouded in darkness. To our left stands a woman, her silhouette all but obscured by the blackness that envelops her.
Pondering these two apparently benighted people, we wonder to ourselves, “What can they possibly be thinking? They stand encompassed by darkness, the lake before them, flat and lifeless. If only they would join us at the foot of the moon’s luminous path, they too could bathe in celestial light.”
(end excerpt)
We all get at least a glimpse of the true light now and then, regardless of its name.
http://www.allsoulsbethlehem.org/
The thing is, that at their core, all the great religions are the same. The apparent differences derive from the egotistical additions of mankind, and the differences in the social teachings necessary for the time and place in which the faith was revealed.
Too bad. Some of the comments in the previous article from this author made is sound almost appealing.
My background is more Universalist than Unitarian, but I appreciate what both offer as I continue to grow in my spiritual life. Thanks for this thoughtful article.