Sand Dancer
Crazy Cat Lady
With as "universal" as this denomination is, I thought it would appeal to more people. How come there aren't a ton of them?
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What is a Universalist Christian?
A Christian who sees validity in all religions, not just Christainity.
Is the prefix really necessary, wouldn't real Christian cover it? -- John 14:2 (KJV)
@ Carlita; I like what you say and I like also your footnotes, could I add to them some words of D.H.Lawrence, quoted by Lama Anagarika Govinda in 'Psycho-cosmic Symbolism of the Buddhist Stupa':
"It was a vast old religion greater than anything we know. More starkly and nakedly religious. There is no god, no conception of god. All is god, but it is not the pantheism we are accustomed to which expresses itself as 'God is everywhere, God is in everything'. In the oldest religion everything was alive, not supernaturally, but naturally alive. There were only deeper and deeper streams of life, vibrations of life more and more vast. So rocks were alive, but a mountain had a deeper, vaster life than a rock, and it was much harder for a man to bring his spirit or his energy into contact with the life of the mountain, as from a great standing well of life, than it was to come into contact with the rock, and he had to put forth a great religious effort.
For the whole life effort of man was to get his life into contact with the elemental life of the cosmos, mountain-life, cloud-life, thunder-life air-life, sun-life. To come into immediate felt contact, and so to derive energy, power and a dark sort of joy. This effort into sheer naked contact, without an intermediary or mediator, is the root meaning of religion.".
Very interesting observations! #4 particularly mirrors my experience, but I would add, in addition to "older, middle class white people," mostly suburbanites who are removed from the struggles of the inner city.As one who used to identity as UU, I think I can offer an "insiders" perspective.
1.) As @Quintessence said, there is absolutely no proselytization. Yes, there are booklets explaining what UU is, but there are no groups going around handing them out or "preaching the Gospel". As such, with little to no awareness, not many people know of the existence of UU.
2.) To those who do know about it, it's reputation isn't exactly the best. It's often referred to as the "church with no beliefs" or a "spiritual junkyard". To an extent, that's not true. There are beliefs in UU (the 7 principles), but they are quite broad and sometimes slightly disorganized.
3.) As opened minded as UU claims to be, it has it's fair share of close mindedness. If one is not an ultra-liberal, then they are often out of the circle of political discussion that goes on. Even as a center-left liberal, I often found myself not agreeing with a lot of what was being discussed. There is also an aura of anti-theism and anti-religionism that pervades through many congregations. Especially against Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. When I first began exploring Hinduism, I was told that it was a belief for "backwards" people who had no grounding in a "rational, scientific worldview".
4.) UU is very racially homogenous. Mostly older, middle class white people. It's sadly very hard to find non-white church members. As such, with the essence of UU being that it draws from many of the world religions and traditions, people have often accused it of being culturally appropriative or racist.
Very interesting observations! #4 particularly mirrors my experience, but I would add, in addition to "older, middle class white people," mostly suburbanites who are removed from the struggles of the inner city.
Theologically, a Universalist believes in the eventual salvation of all human beings, and that there is no such thing as eternal damnation: an infinite punishment for finite sins is illogical if God is good and just, as the Gospels say God is.What is a Universalist Christian?
Good point!Theologically, a Universalist believes in the eventual salvation of all human beings, and that there is no such thing as eternal damnation: an infinite punishment for finite sins is illogical if God is good and just, as the Gospels say God is.
This was revolutionary thinking in the 18th century, but now many Catholic, Episcopal, and other mainline denominations agree...another reason that Unitarian-Universalism isn't as big as it might be: many of its beliefs are shared by other denominations now, so it has less of a "unique selling proposition".
With as "universal" as this denomination is, I thought it would appeal to more people. How come there aren't a ton of them?