The GA, The UUA, The CUUPs, The Christians, The Bias

I don’t often touch on Unitarian-Universalism on this blog, but considering I am indeed a member of two differant local UU churches and work as the office manager for one of them, I do at times find myself drawn to comment on the larger UU world. In this case the yearly General Assembly, or ‘GA’. The purpose of the GA (as I understand it) is to give the member congregations a chance to meet, decide on the national focus for the coming year (and other official financial/structural policy I would assume) and provide enriching talks and workshops for UUs who attend from all over the country.

I was invited to go this year, but a drive to Texas from Illinois didn’t seem my cup of tea. But I have been following UU bloggers as they report on or from the GA. One blogger, the Rev. Scott Wells at Boy in the Bands thinks there may be some bias going on at the GA.

“Last year, I wondered out loud where the reportage of Christian events at General Assembly was? I pressed a UU staffer and was stonewalled. This year, though there are a number of other-than-Christian theological events reported, it seems clear that there?s no Christian coverage planned for GA ?05. No, Elaine Pagels does not count, unless she became Unitarian Universalist and didn?t tell anyone: Christians shouldn?t have to be represented by proxy. Or euphemism, or apology (in the common sense of the word.) This is unbalanced coverage, and I smell bias.”

For the uninitiated, due to the creedless nature of the current UU community, there are often religious sub-groups within the greater UU world. So you have UU Christians, UU Humanists, UU Buddhists, UU Pagans, etc. Lately there has been much talk amongst the UU Christians specifically UU Christian bloggers about UU giving a greater acknowledgement to the Christian roots of Unitarianism and Universalism.

The problem is that the overwhelming majority of UUs are Humanists, and only about half of existing UU churches are theistic in orientation. So its little wonder that the Christian history and theistic elements within the larger UUA can get shuffled to the side. But perhaps unlike the Rev. Wells (he would have to clarify), I don’t think this is a problem isolated to Christians within UU but to all specific theistic groups operating in the UUA.

If the numbers gathered in the 1997 Unitarian Universalism Needs and Aspirations Survey are anywhere near accurate in 2005 then the biggest specific theistic subgroup (as opposed to general “theism”) are modern Pagans. But despite their large size no coverage was given to this religious group’s activities at the GA. Nor from my browsing of speakers and workshops were any geared towards modern Paganism in any way. This speaks of an overwhelming ignorance as to what sorts of spiritual practice are actually gaining ground in the modern UUA. But perhaps the bias against modern Paganism is more a generational bias than a theological one considering the rampant growth of modern Paganism with teens and young adults.

But how to address the needs to be seen and heard of such diverses theological perspectives? Obviously the strong emphasis on humanism makes many feel left out and unwelcome in the larger organization (and makes for a bad compromise). If the focus shifts, how to represent all in a fair and balanced manner? I’m open to insight from UUs with more experience than I have.

Tags: Neopaganism