Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Duluth 
Reflections on Theological Diversity
The Rev. Karen Gustafson
April 9, 2006
READING
The sources of our living tradition include:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
- Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
- Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
- Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support
A regular and honored part of our newcomers gatherings, I ask that folks share a little of the stories of what led them to seek out this Unitarian Universalist congregation. Those of you who have participated in one or more of those gatherings either as a newcomer or as a member of the membership committee who host them, know that such stories are varied and rich. Often they speak of where we have come from, of a journey from a childhood faith that was nourishing or not, that ultimately gave way to doubt or uncertainty or cynicism in the face of some question or life circumstance or experience that contradicted some aspect of the teachings or doctrine. Often people who are part of these gatherings express relief and appreciation for an opportunity to hear and tell such stories because it makes them feel less alone and it provides a basis of hope for real community in which their questions and experience will be respected and not repressed. Phrases like "like minded" and "spiritual freedom" and acceptance of difference are often used.
We deepen this discussion in our exploring Unitarian Universalism class that is offered quarterly. In this three session class I attempt to show the ways in which the development of Christianity from its early history as a heretical Jewish sect, to political doctrinal Roman Catholicism, through the questioning and struggling of the protestant reformers, is in many ways a journey parallel to the personal journey from childhood faith to institutional indoctrination to the questioning that can lead to an exploration of a liberal faith tradition.
The other part of this class is an attempt to connect participants with their own spiritual wisdom through the sources of our living tradition. This is because it is often easier to identify what one rejects than it is to claim what one believes. What does it mean outside of a traditional denominational faith to discover and to maintain a relationship with that which is life giving and sustaining and greater than the self? What does it mean for that sustained self to act with principle and purpose in the world?
At best, everything we do in worship, music, readings, silence, meditation, ritual, sermons reflects and reinforces BOTH the intent to nurture both the principles by which we live and honors the sources and practices which make it possible to live with integrity both within and outside of the beloved community. At best this is the intent of all religions and faith traditions. What makes the task somewhat daunting for Unitarian Universalist congregational life and worship is that, unlike most other traditions who use a single source which serves as a filter for all aspects of their tradition, ours is a living tradition that draws from many sources. Christians draw their wisdom primarily from the rich text of Jewish and Christian scripture. Though there are vast differences in how that scripture is interpreted and understood and vast differences among Christians about what it means to live a "Christian" life, the Bible serves as the basic text which informs their faith.
Ironically, though we do not have a single source which guides the spiritual lives of all Unitarian Universalists, we do have a filter through which we might view our actions, namely our statement of principles, printed there on the cover of your order of service, which makes the living out of Unitarian Universalists in many ways LESS diverse than the living out of Christianity.
Nonetheless, the leadership of our Unitarian Universalist Association continues to assert that we need to be more intentional about the ways in which we identify ourselves theologically, that we need to emphasize to ourselves and to others the things that unite us and honor and respect and develop our diverse individual theological, political and other perspectives. We are concerned that, as one of our former members said, " the garment of traditional Christianity was too tight but that the garment of Unitarian Universalism was too loose." Or as has been said at times, that Unitarian Universalists have a tendency to define themselves too much by who they aren’t and what they don’t believe than by who they are and what they do believe." These are, I think, important reminders that Unitarian Universalism can feel like a relief from the oppression of narrow doctrine and inconsistent claims of static revelation, but at best demands of us the intentional engagement of our minds and hearts and energies with the continuous revelation of the truth of living and experiencing the mysteries and the inevitabilities of human existence.
The Commission on Appraisal is a group of Unitarian Universalists who meet four times a year to look carefully at some aspect of congregational life. The aspect reported on in 2005 was theological diversity. Through a process of literature review, congregational survey, focus groups, and hearings at the annual general assembly, the commission came up with a number of observations and some recommendations about how Unitarian Universalism might be a more authentically pluralistic faith tradition in which the different theologies and spiritual practices that inform us as individuals might be shared in a way that connects and strengthens rather than divides and separates us. Theology refers in this context to the way one frames the world. Theology addresses how we understand the nature of the cosmos and of human beings, how we know what we know, where we find our religious authority, how we practice our values and strengthen our spirits, what we see as the goal of the religious journey and the nature of religious community and how we define our mission in the world. Other faith traditions are based on an assumption of a common theology or world view that is dictated by an identified authority. There are some apparent commonalities among Unitarian Universalists; there are also many differences. The whole text of this study appears on the UUA website and is available through the UUA bookstore. I encourage anyone who is serious about understanding Unitarian Universalism as a faith tradition to read it, because it encourages both the breadth that comes from theological diversity while at the same opening up the dialogue that leads to depth and connection.
Unbound by a single way of giving voice to meaning, a single myth or story or point of reference, we can find ourselves adrift, unsatisfied by what can become a sense of shifting connection, especially in times of crisis or personal upheaval. We may want to know not only that we are part of a community of kind, gentle, generous, supportive people, but we want to know who in that community are our spiritual companions. We want to have a developed sense of what it is that is greater than the self and we want to know how to access that power and the presence when we need it to call us to our best selves. Christians and Jews and Muslims pray and make music and invoke the god of their ancestors. Buddhists meditate and study. Humanists invoke the power of reason and the results of science; environmentalists and naturalists and pagans commune with the natural world; Unitarian Universalists pray and sing and meditate and study and reason and revel in the wonders of nature. We do some of all those things on Sunday mornings in our communal worship. In this time and space we seek to gather the seedlings that will bear the fruit to feed us in the days we are not together. We seek to be called to our best selves. But clearly it takes more than an hour of worship to sustain some weeks. We need spiritual depth and identity to face the challenges of a world that grows increasingly complex and demanding.
In short, this calls us to a deeper level of community which I believe has begun to happen in a number of ways. Those of you who have participated in a covenant group have experienced some of what it might be like to engage in a deeper conversation about meaning and value and spirit. The Buddhist groups that meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, the new moon group, the book group, the adult enrichment classes, are some examples of ways in which individuals self select into such conversations. In the past we have had a Sunday morning series on "The Word" in which members of the congregation were invited to respond from their theological perspective to words like evil, God, prayer and church. In 2004 we did a series entitled "what I believe and why." These presentations are available on our web site.
But I wonder, on the whole, how well we are doing with what the Commission on Appraisal calls "engaging our theological diversity". Here is what the report recommends:
"The Commission recommends that individual UUs and congregations acknowledge and deal with theological diversity rather than avoid it. Many adult UUs have told us that discussing theology and beliefs is not a frequent part of their congregational life. When pressed, most acknowledge that this is in part an attempt to avoid conflict and disagreement. A number of youth agreed with this assessment, adding that they felt many adults do not like to talk about what they believe because they are not sure what that actually is and are afraid of looking uninformed or unintelligent.
Sweeping UU theological diversity under the rug by refusing to talk about it in community is not a healthy way to approach the issue. Tolerance requires conversation, not avoidance. Talking about beliefs, learning from one another, and stimulating everyone's thinking through open and honest sharing of views should be encouraged in UU congregational life. During our focus group meetings with representatives from the UUA's affiliated theological identity groups, they all told us that life in a theologically homogenized congregation would be boring and would not provide sufficient stimulation to further personal growth. However, without open dialogue, the diversity that exists within the community cannot have this growth-stimulating effect."
We can act on this recommendation in a simple way today. Take a moment and read through the list of the sources of the living tradition listed on the back of your order of service. Think about your own beliefs, about what guides you, what helps you in times of stress or indecision. In a moment, I am going to ask for a show of hands. This is, of course completely voluntary. I will ask you to raise your hand to indicate which of the sources you most closely identify with. You may vote as many times as you wish but try to limit yourself to the top three. Look around. This is a representation of our theological diversity. I would suggest that there is much opportunity for engaging one another with interest and also with respect for the richness that you can share with both those whose hands match your own and for those who have moved on.
Ours is a faith tradition in which we freely acknowledge that there is much which unites us. As freely, we acknowledge that our own stories and experience of what is holy inform us in ways that can divide and separate us or can enrich and inspire. In the words of Forest Church, "In a UU church revelation is an ongoing process; each of us is a potential harbinger of meaning."
Let us take that potential seriously. In our covenant groups, in our worship, in our conversations during coffee hour, let us seek deeper ways to grow from the sharing of our stories and from our attention to the ongoing process of revelation.