Freedom From Religion Foundation<\/a>. Does that not seem a bit odd \u2013 if not counterproductive \u2013 in a religious organization\u2019s official magazine?<\/p>\nNow, just to be clear, I support FFRF\u2019s work toward the separation of church and state. And I respect those whose free and responsible search for truth and meaning has led them to conclude that there is no God in any sense of the word.<\/p>\n
But some of these quotes aren\u2019t just supportive of free thought, they\u2019re insulting to people of faith \u2013 whether that faith is theistic or non-theistic. Mark Twain: \u201cFaith is believing what you know ain\u2019t so.\u201d Clarence Darrow: \u201cI don\u2019t believe in God because I don\u2019t believe in Mother Goose.\u201d They assume (or at least, strongly imply) that the God of orthodox Western religion is the only possible view of God there is, and that religion is all about accepting a series of supernatural propositions.<\/p>\n
In fairness to the editors of UU World<\/em>, I see some of this attitude in my own UU church and I read it online. There will be some UUs who will like this ad, and may even be encouraged by it.<\/p>\nIn my limited experience, the real tension in Unitarian Universalism isn\u2019t between theists and non-theists. It\u2019s between those who find meaning and value in traditional religious language, stories, forms and practices and those who are so offended by their association with conservative religions that they don\u2019t want anything to do with them.<\/p>\n
I see this tension most clearly in discussions about Sunday worship services. The more our services follow a \u201cgeneric Protestant\u201d format (to say nothing of some of the Pagan-themed Sunday services I\u2019ve led) the more I hear complaints from a vocal minority who want nothing to do with that. But the alternative of lectures and \u201cprograms\u201d doesn\u2019t feed my soul, nor does it satisfy what I think are the needs and desires of the clear majority at my congregation.<\/p>\n
We can cooperate to build a better world, but we\u2019ll never be able to build a cohesive religious community as long as we\u2019re forced to design our services to the lowest common denominator.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Have you seen the print version of the new UU World? The inside cover is a full-page ad for the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Does that not seem a bit odd \u2013 if not counterproductive \u2013 in a religious organization\u2019s official magazine? Now, just to be clear, I support FFRF\u2019s work toward the separation of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>Have you seen the print version of the new UU World<\/a><\/em>? The inside cover is a full-page ad for the Freedom From Religion Foundation<\/a>. Does that not seem a bit odd \u2013 if not counterproductive \u2013 in a religious organization\u2019s official magazine?<\/p>\n