Tectonic Shifts in the Global Religious Landscape since WWI

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 10:21 am By Carl Gregg

The Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism set a high bar. To list only a few examples: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; respect for the interdependent web of all existence. One of the reasons for such high goals is that many of the theological ancestors of contemporary UUs had an optimistic view of human potential. Whereas some theological conservatives preached a pessimistic view of human nature (“Original Sin” and... Read more

Why Does Unitarian Universalism Have Such a Long Name?

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:21 pm By Carl Gregg

This post is the final entry in a four-part series on Unitarian Universalist history. In part one, I explored the question, “Why Unitarianism?” The Unitarian half of Unitarian Universalism emerged out of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, and has roots stretching back to the beginning of the Jewish and Christian traditions. And, in short, my answer to “Why Unitarianism?” is that its foundation in six diverse sources makes it a religious movement that is particularly suited for the pluralistic, postmodern world... Read more

The Secret Six: Violence & Nonviolence in Unitarianism & Universalism

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:21 pm By Carl Gregg

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of... Read more

Why Universalism? “Loving the Hell Out of the World?”

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:20 pm By Carl Gregg

Last week I posted my response to the question “Why Unitarianism?” This week, I will explore the related question, “Why Universalism?” Comparing these two philosophically liberal religious traditions, the most famous quote comes from Thomas Appleton, who said, “The Universalists think that God is too good to damn them forever, the Unitarians think that they are too good to be damned forever” (Buehrens 228). More constructively, the Rev. Forrest Church said, “In a sweeping answer to creeds that divide the human... Read more

Scientific Rigor and Spiritual Evolution: The Work of Jeffrey Kripal

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:20 pm By Carl Gregg

This post is part of a summer-long Patheos series on 2014 Religious Trends. This week, the focus is the Spirituality Channel on “Is the Veil Thinning? Time, Consciousness, and Spiritual Evolution” This topic is timely for me because last week, I began teaching a 6-session course in my congregation based on Jeffrey Kripal’s new book “Comparing Religions: Coming to Terms.” I have posted about Kripal previously (“Religious Mystic & Rational Humanist: The Mystical Humanism of Jeffrey Kripal”), and myself, as well as... Read more

Why Unitarianism?

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:19 pm By Carl Gregg

This post is the first in a two-part series reflecting on Unitarian Universalism. Next week, I plan to write about “Why Universalism?” For me, the move from Liberal Christianity to Unitarianism Universalism has been an important paradigm shift in our multi-religious, multi-polar, postmodern world. Before the advent of modern technology, which has made us increasingly globalized and interconnected, it was easier to justify a belief that there is One, Unchanging, Right Way of Believing and Being in the world. But after the... Read more

“Find Out How Much Love the World Can Hold”

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:19 pm By Carl Gregg

The singer-songwriter Dar Williams has a song called “After All.” (If you aren’t familiar with Williams, I recommend her album Out There Live.) The opening lyrics are, “Go ahead, push your luck / Find out how much love the world can hold.” She continues: Once upon a time I had control And reined my soul in tight… So I stopped the tide Froze it up from inside And it felt like a winter machine That you go through and then... Read more

“Bringing the Spiritual to Its Senses”

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:18 pm By Carl Gregg

Incense fills the nostrils of a Krishna devotee in a temple in Vrindavan, India, letting him know he is in a sacred place; Muslim worshipers heed the muezzin’s amplified call to prayer from the minaret of a Moroccan mosque; a girl tastes bitter herbs at a Passover Seder in Brooklyn, reminding her of the harshness of her ancestors’ slavery in Egypt; a Greek Orthodox woman gazes reverently upon an icon of Jesus Christ and sees the gaze returned, knowing she... Read more

“Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaping Our World”

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:18 pm By Carl Gregg

“Seventh-Generation Thinking” means considering the longterm impact of our actions even to the seventh generation to follow. Or I have sometimes heard this perspective phrased: seeing yourself as in the midpoint of a seven-generation span — such that ethical decisions should try to honor the wisdom of the three generations that preceded you (back to your great-grandparents) and to consider the legacy you are leaving for the three generations that will follow you (your great-grand children). One issue is that... Read more

Margaret Fuller: The Stories We Tell Matter

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:18 pm By Carl Gregg

The stories we tell matter. The stories that we choose to tell can be used to empower ourselves and others or they can be used to belittle and diminish. The stories we choose to tell can inspire us, expanding our minds and opening our hearts, or they can instill fear, scapegoating and demonizing others. And when I say that the stories we choose to tell matter, I use that word ‘choose’ intentionally. Because we can choose to tell a different... Read more