Posted on 05/23/2008 6:06:40 AM PDT by Cronos
Please treat this as a serious thread and not to poke fun at anyone. I've looked up many places about what unitarians do believe in and I'm completely confused. If there are any freepers out here who are part of this faith, to help me expand my knowledge, please could you share your beliefs?
They believe in nothing. They don't have a religion, they have a sort of group therapy.
Really.
I especially remember a “sermon” on How to Greet the Sun. The speaker mentioned the Aztecs, but managed to leave out the part of about tearing the still-beating heart from the chest of the sacrificial victim. Walking around, I saw religious icons from every religion imaginable EXCEPT Christianity.
To put it mildly, I was uncomfortable there and I have never been back.
There is, at most, one god.
I was raised more or less UU. More or less, they believe in liberal causes. Officially they believe in whatever higher power fulfills your search for individual spiritual meaning, and self-autonomy.
I’ve gone to a Christmas sermon on Mithras, and sermons about organic tomato farming and adopting Vietnamese orphans. Nothing about God, unless you count comparing the Jesus-myth to the Mithras-myth. Back 35 years ago, I went to Unicamp somewhere in Ontario which embodied every hippie enthusiasm including mixed age and gender nude swimming. Except for the nude swimming and a cartoon version of 1984 shown to ten year olds, the camp was great. Spelunking, over-night hiking, foraging, lots of free time for dreaming and exploring, Northern lights, Capture the flag, and very very kind, enthusisastic counselors.
The Unitarians we knew in Canada were very kind and helpful to us at a bad time for our family. Unfortunately my father’s mental illness (paranoia with an anti-establishment flavor) fit right into their world view and was accepted as normal behavior.
My mother is still UU but has become more conservative - and is especially ticked off at all the anti-war activities, let’s-all-just-try-to-understand-each-other stuff. These people don’t believe they have any enemies except for repressive conservatives.
You may find a UU who says otherwise, but the UU church is a place for people whose liberalism is their spirituality, and who are looking for the sense of community, connectedness, and structure that a church provides.
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion that encompasses many faith traditions. Unitarian Universalists include people who identify as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, and others. As there is no official Unitarian Universalist creed, Unitarian Universalists are free to search for truth on many paths.To quote the Rev. Marta Flanagan, "We uphold the free search for truth. We will not be bound by a statement of belief. We do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed. We say ours is a non-creedal religion. Ours is a free faith."
Although we uphold shared principles, individual Unitarian Universalists have varied beliefs about everything from scripture to rituals to God.
and elsewhere
This is not the only view of Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity within our faith. Unitarian Universalists can be Christian, Humanist, Pagan, Buddhist, Jewish, atheist, and more. A portion of Unitarian Universalists today identify as Christians, but even some Unitarian Universalists who do not identify primarily as Christians find inspiration in Christian ideas. Because of the freedom within our faith, there are many differing views regarding the role of Christianity in our religious community.
And under paganism
There are many Wiccans, witches, Pagans, and people with other earth-based spiritualities who lead and worship in Unitarian Universalist congregations. At last count, 19 percent of our members identified with an Earth/Nature centered faith. This is one of the fastest-growing groups within our faith.
So, yeah. Well. What the "UU on the street" believes, I don't know. I don't think I've ever met one. Officially, it looks like they jumped ship a long time ago.
I went to one service - they debated if God existed...
I once had a Unitarian direct report pass away and attended his funeral. He was an excellent employee and fine person to be around and discuss things with (usually business-related).
The funeral was a hum-dinger, for sure. Some songs about community (seriously), and a reading from Robert Frost.
Bizarre, really bizarre - seemed to be a liberals’ wet dream.
But that’s just my impression.
Everything and nothing.
They believe in:
And that about sums it up.........
I knew somebody who’s Mom was a Unitarian Universalist and who’s Dad was a Jehova’s Witness.
He knocked on doors for no apparent reason.
That there is down right funny.
Ba dum-bump.
Have you tried the internet?
I am not a member, but as I understand it, they eschew any hierarchical view in favor of a more centrist view of humankind.
IOW: no "god" above us, either literally or figuratively. Furthermore, all of mankind is equal to each other, and we are all interchangeable as parts of a whole.
No such thing as "sin" or "rules to live by" either. Therefore, your "truth" is just as valid as anyone else's.
I wonder what would happen if you crossed a Unitarian and an FLDS? A polygamist who doesn’t like children? A witch who REALLY dresses weird?
Universalists think God is too good to send them to hell. Unitarians think they are too good for God to send them to hell.
"The recently deceased is all dressed up and no place to go."
Unitarians begin their prayers with, “To whom it may concern”.
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