You are quite right Alex. It is in fact nothing new for the U*U power structure to censor or excommunicate critics and dissenters who U*Us choose the fate of portraying as heretical or blasphemous people. Outrageously hypocritical Unitarian*Universalists aka U*Us will even go so far as to have such “heretical” people unjustly arrested on trumped up criminal charges in order to try to suppress a peaceful public protest. . .

Is the demographic split between warm + fuzzy theists and atheists shifting in the UUA to make atheists even more marginalized in their ranks?

As an atheist who spent seven years (2001-08) as a member of a UU church….

Yes.

Our resistance to religious language gets reflected, I think, in the struggle that so many of us have in trying to find ways to say who we are, to define Unitarian Universalism. I always encourage people to work on their “elevator speech”-for when you’re on the 6th floor and you’re going to the lobby and somebody asks you, “What’s a Unitarian Universalist?” What do you say? You’ve got about 45 seconds. Here’s my current answer: “The Unitarian side of our family tree tells us that there is only one God, one Spirit of Life, one Power of Love. The Universalist side tells us that God is a loving God, condemning none of us, and valuing the spark of divinity that is in every human being. So, Unitarian Universalism stands for: one God, no one left behind.”

– Rev. William H. Sinkford (Unitarian Universalist Association President, 2001-09), sermon, “The Language of Faith,” January 12, 2003 (boldface added)

More and more people are leaving their religions. People are getting fed up with their churches but not wanting to give up on God. Are they moving to the UU churches? Is the demographic split between warm + fuzzy theists and atheists shifting in the UUA to make atheists even more marginalized in their ranks?

Just a thought.

Now, why would you BOTHER putting an ad in a magazine that was going to offend most of the readers?

Because it contained important ideas that deserve to be published, and because (given the UUA’s supposed principles) there are no legitimate grounds for offense. That ad is only offensive to people who have bought into atheophobic bigotry. The FFRF should ignore bigots.

Those quotes, however, *ARE* offensive to anyone with any amount of faith….

Oh, the poor darlings! It must be so awful to read somebody saying something unkind about an idea you hold. Should we send the complainers lots of hugs and kisses to console them?

News flash: there is no human right not to be offended. And your acceptance of religious privilege–the very thing that keeps atheists a marginalized and despised minority–is very ugly.

you’re not going to gain members that way.

You’re demonstrably wrong. As the FFRF has pointed out, they’ve already gained members as a result of that ad.

Try again.