'Where all your answers are questioned'
A visitor to a Unitarian Universalist church sat through a sermon with growing incredulity at the heretical ideas being spouted. After the sermon, a member asked her, "So how did you like it?"
"I can't believe half the things that minister said!" she sputtered in outrage.
"Oh, good," said the member. "You'll fit right in!"
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In explaining themselves to outsiders, Unitarian Universalists are likely to tell jokes.
As with most jokes about Unitarian Universalists, there is a grain of truth in the punch line. UUs, as they frequently call themselves, don't believe in specific dogma. Instead they draw on the wisdom of many religious and spiritual traditions while welcoming a questioning mind-set.
"People ask me, 'What does your congregation believe?' I tell them every person here has a belief and they're all different," said Heather Lynn Hanson, interim minister for the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Ashland. "I invite people to explore their own beliefs and principles."
Many fellowship members have connections to other faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism and Protestant, Catholic and Mormon Christianity. Others describe themselves as humanists, agnostics or atheists.
Despite the plethora of beliefs, UUs generally agree on seven principles. Those include respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person, as well as for the interdependent web of all existence. UUs support justice and compassion in human relations, the search for meaning and spiritual growth, democracy and the goal of a peaceful world community.
Alan Berman said it was clear from the moment that he and his wife, Harriet, walked into the fellowship and read the seven principles that this was the congregation they wanted to join.
"We'd been through several types of congregations. We were Unitarian Universalists all the time and didn't know it. That's something you hear all the time," he said. "The combination of the Unitarian approach and Ashland in general all works. You see values and principles in action all around you. It's such a civilized, open society. We've blossomed here like never before."
Alan Berman, who is Jewish, said he respects his heritage but believes that Judaism and most other religions focus too much on the past.
Raised as a Christian Congregationalist, Harriet Berman said other churches she tried were more interested in their internal issues rather than in reaching out through community projects.
Seekers wanted
Why are UUs the worst hymn singers? They are always reading ahead to see if they agree with the next line.
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The UU mind-set is less about uncritically accepting any idea that comes along and more about active exploration, discussion and sharing, members said.
To that end, the fellowship has launched two new classes, "Morals for the 11th Millennium" and "Building Your Own Theology."
From the titles alone, the classes seem to represent exactly what sets UUs apart — and to people with more conservative religious beliefs, illustrates an unsettling smorgasbord, choose-what's-convenient approach to ethics and faith.
But several congregation members who gathered for a recent morals class spoke of their support for the time-honored Golden Rule, which states, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
They said empathy for others is the foundation for ethical behavior.
However, members said pinning ethics and morals to a belief in God is dangerous, since anything that shakes a person's faith in God could destroy his or her moral compass. Several looked to a scientific explanation for why humans have empathy.
"I think it's part of evolution. We are wired to have empathy," said Carola Lacy, who was raised a Quaker but became a Unitarian Universalist in the 1960s.
Steve Weyer, a former Catholic, is attending the "Build Your Own Theology" class to clarify his own beliefs. He said the writing assignments on subjects such as people who have most influenced his life and the happiest and saddest times of his life have forced him to take inventory and reflect on his experiences.
"People shouldn't feel threatened. If they have a firm set of beliefs, a course like this shouldn't threaten them. By taking a look at your own life, you could reinforce your religious beliefs," Weyer said.
With so many beliefs under one roof, the question inevitably arises, why even bother being a congregation at all?
Weyer said members are on a journey of spiritual exploration together.
"I certainly could do this quest on my own," he said. "But there's something about being in a group of people. Certain services or sermons or songs touch me. They help me feel a part of something larger. It's a community doing the seeking. We're active together doing things, whether that's environmental projects or social action. There's a sense that together you can accomplish more."
Lacy said being a part of the congregation exposes her to new ideas and helps her reevaluate her own beliefs.
She can also share her ideas with others.
In a society where openly questioning the existence of God is still largely taboo — to do so could mean career suicide for many politicians — members also find a sense of camaraderie.
"Like any good relationship in church or elsewhere, you bond when you don't have to edit what you say,"
Lacy said. "You can speak freely."
The future
What do you get when you cross a Unitarian Universalist with a Jehovah's Witness? A person who knocks on the door and doesn't know why.
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Hanson said Unitarian Universalism, like Protestant and Catholic Christianity, is failing to grow at the same pace as the population. Demographically, the church-going population is also graying.
That has caused UUs at national meetings to call for congregations to do more outreach to draw in new members. The fellowship in Ashland faces the same challenge, with the added difficulty that more retirees and fewer families with children are settling here.
But proselytizing can be hard for UUs, who generally don't train missionaries and don't have short, simple answers when people ask them about their beliefs.
"It is a problem because we don't go out and say we have the answer," said Harriet Berman. "Within our congregation, there are lots of different answers. We try to embrace people where they are and encourage them to grow and change in a way that is truthful to their soul. It's hard to do when you don't have dogma."
Weyer said the lack of fixed answers can be frustrating to some, but others might find the process of exploration helps satisfy spiritual cravings while stimulating the mind.
"We believe in the process of questioning things," he said. "You're never finished finding the answer."
Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com. To post a comment, visit www.dailytidings.com.
