Is Unitarian Universalism a dying Faith?

Whenever I read more and more, it seems that the steady decline of congregational growth seems to be a depressing factor in Unitarian Universalism, as well as still being stereotyped as a white, intellectually elitist, anti-theistic religion. I would love to be part of the Faith, but hearing these do not make me happy at times.

Are my views skewed? What has caused you to stay in Unitarian Universalism? Does it have a strong community of youth and young adults supporting the Cause?

Is UU a faith at all? or a coming together of people of faith in common worship?

The last reliable information shows that the number of members of UU congregations increased 25.3% from 1990 to 2000.

Yes, UU is a faith - a religion.

I can't speak for every Unitarian, only for myself, so I'll try to respond as best I can with my own views.

How many other people practice my religion isn't a big deal to me. What matters to me is that it's a religion that I can feel comfortable with, and that challenges me at the same time. For me, Unitarian Universalism is the best religion in the world - not that I don't like a lot of things about others - and if I didn't think it was I wouldn't be a Unitarian Universalist. So, whether our religion is on the rise or in a decline doesn't affect whether or not I practice it.

Never mind that just because congregations have seen a decrease in attendance doesn't mean they're on a permanent course. It is possible that within a year or two congregations will begin to grow again. I don't know what's causing the decline, but I recall reading that Unitarianism had been growing for years before it and this recent decline is only, well, recent.

The first reason I've settled for Unitarianism is that I can't find the completeness I find in it in any other religion: If I become a Christian, I must place the Bible above the Bhagavad Gita; if I become a Hindu I must place the Bhagavad Gita above the Bible; if I become a Muslim I must regard the Quran as final and Mohammed as the final prophet; if I practice any of these, I cannot be agnostic and must believe in answers of which I am uncertain. Only as a Unitarian can I have the Bible, the Gita, the Quran, the wisdom of prophetic men and women not associated with any particular tradition (or of individuals such as Emerson associated with Unitarianism) all at once, and still keep my reason and skepticism and thus my honesty.

The second reason I've chosen to be and remain Unitarian is that it's good for my health. It's good for my sanity. The nature of Unitarianism forces me to find common ground amongst people, and when I look to this common ground I find universal values and principles to live my life by, and these keep me healthy and balanced. These values have helped me make deeper connections with others than I've ever had before, have made me see life from a whole new perspective, have breathed new life into me, and all-in-all have given me sheer joy. Being Unitarian is refreshing, and constantly so. It's good to have a religion that refreshes me.

These values are what I put my faith in, and what Unitarian Universalists have in common as a faith community. It's both a simple and complex faith, and I love it for that. And I don't think a faith like this is going to just die very easily.

UUism is growing is absolute numbers, the number of members of our congregations is slightly larger every year the last 20 years or so but our growth is slower than the rate of population growth in the USA. That means we are declining as a percentage of the US population. Out of 1,000 UU congregations in the US about 60 are growing significantly. The rest are either holding steady or declining. The growth of those 60 congregations is enough to make the total membership of the denomination increase slightly each year.

keithnurse said:

UUism is growing is absolute numbers, the number of members of our congregations is slightly larger every year the last 20 years or so but our growth is slower than the rate of population growth in the USA. That means we are declining as a percentage of the US population.

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The number of people who are members of any religious congregation is declining as a percentage of the US population. The single fastest-growing category is people identifying themselves as spiritual in some way, but not officially affiliated with any established religious organization.

I guess when you look at it at a macrocosmic scale, it does not seem so bad. More and more people prefer to have a non-congregational form of spirituality nowadays, and that may reflect on the continuous declension of religionist attendants in any religious organisation in North America.

So, is Unitarian Universalism growing or in decline (however temporary)? I acknowledged the possibility of a decline because I remember reading an article in UU World addressing the issue of, but according to keithnurse we're actually growing. I'm confused now.

JonathanCid said:

So, is Unitarian Universalism growing or in decline (however temporary)? I acknowledged the possibility of a decline because I remember reading an article in UU World addressing the issue of, but according to keithnurse we're actually growing. I'm confused now.

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Ask the people at the Unitarian Universalist Association. UUism is, like I said, growing in absolute numbers each year that last 20 years or so. That means there are more members of UU congregations now than there were a year ago but our growth is slower than the rate of population growth of the United States. That means we are declining as a percentage of the US population.

bicker said:

The number of people who are members of any religious congregation is declining as a percentage of the US population. The single fastest-growing category is people identifying themselves as spiritual in some way, but not officially affiliated with any established religious organization.

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Incorrect. The Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists are NOT declining as a percentage of the US population. They are growing faster than the US population, thus, they are also growing as a percentage of the population.

keithnurse said:

Ask the people at the Unitarian Universalist Association. UUism is, like I said, growing in absolute numbers each year that last 20 years or so. That means there are more members of UU congregations now than there were a year ago but our growth is slower than the rate of population growth of the United States. That means we are declining as a percentage of the US population.

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Gotcha. Thanks for that info.

JonathanCid said:

I acknowledged the possibility of a decline because I remember reading an article in UU World addressing the issue of

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Many religious denominations are struggling with the fact that church membership, in general, is declining.

keithnurse said:

The number of people who are members of any religious congregation is declining as a percentage of the US population.

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Incorrect. The Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists are NOT declining as a percentage of the US population.

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I didn't say they were. You misunderstood what I wrote. I didn't say that each and every individual denomination is declining. I said that the number of people who are members of any religious congregation is declining as a percentage of the US population. That is true. Add up all the people who are members of any religious congregation, and compare that number as a percentage of population, then versus now. It is declining. Fewer people are members of churches.

bicker said:

Many religious denominations are struggling with the fact that church membership, in general, is declining.


I didn't say they were. You misunderstood what I wrote. I didn't say that each and every individual denomination is declining. I said that the number of people who are members of any religious congregation is declining as a percentage of the US population. That is true. Add up all the people who are members of any religious congregation, and compare that number as a percentage of population, then versus now. It is declining. Fewer people are members of churches.

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I did a bit of a search and found that membership at some churches increased last year, according to the National Council of Churches.

While mainstream protestants, including Southern Baptists, lost members, the Mormons, Assemblies of God and Roman Catholic churches actually grew.

The Catholic Church, the nation's largest at more than 68 million members, also reported a slight membership loss in 2009 but rebounded this year with a robust growth of 1.49 percent.
The Latter-day Saints grew 1.71 percent to 5,873,408 members and the Assemblies of God grew 1.27 percent to 2,863,265 members, according to figures reported in the 2010 Yearbook.

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According to UUWorld,

Adult membership in the Unitarian Universalist Association in the United States has declined for the second consecutive year following many years of positive though nearly flat growth. Enrollment in children’s religious education programs also dropped this year, continuing a slow decline that began in 2002.

A year ago UUA membership declined by 132 members for a total of 156,015 adult members. This year membership dropped 267, a decline of .16 percent. Total adult membership this year is 155,748.

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I, however, don't think this points to a death knell for UUs.

The losses posted are minimal, compared to other churches.

During uncertain times, and these last several years have been anything but certain, people tend to look for comfort and reassurance, and they will look for it in the safe and familiar.

That is why Catholics, Mormons and Assemblies of God probably have seen gains.

I think UUs will hold their own, but it might behoove us start sharing our faith with others, not just to raise numbers, but to let them see the comfort and reassurance we have in our congregations.

Seeker.

seeker57 said:

I, however, don't think this points to a death knell for UUs.

The losses posted are minimal, compared to other churches.

During uncertain times, and these last several years have been anything but certain, people tend to look for comfort and reassurance, and they will look for it in the safe and familiar.

That is why Catholics, Mormons and Assemblies of God probably have seen gains.

I think UUs will hold their own, but it might behoove us start sharing our faith with others, not just to raise numbers, but to let them see the comfort and reassurance we have in our congregations.

Seeker.

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A Bigger Boat

It looks like our Canadian Unitarian Council is desiring an initiative for U*Uvangelism.

The numbers tell the story. The 2001 Canadian census shows over 17,000 Unitarians. But the official membership of our Canadian Unitarian Council stands at just over five thousand. I have heard that 20 percent of Canadians are (theoretically at least) in sympathy with Unitarian values and principles. I don’t doubt it.

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Oy... That says something, really!

That we are not catering to the congregation's needs and fostering community as we should be.

This one striked me the most:

Making connections calls us to stretch outside of our comfort zones – that’s how spiritual growth happens. So if the thought of greeting a newcomer makes you quake, then sit next to a stranger at coffee breaks or lunch, and you might start your conversation by admitting: “I’m nervous about this.” It’s very likely you have at least that in common! Welcoming a stranger seems such a small thing — but it’s also everything.

Making connections means not just a willingness welcoming more in the door, but of reaching out beyond our imagined threshold, stepping out of our own narrow doorways to expand our vision of the meaning and potential of Unitarianism.

Whether or not our membership ever grows in numbers, we members are called to grow in spirit — whether we are 50 congregations or 150, whether each congregation serves 150 members or 500, whether there are 5,000 Canadian Unitarians or we are 50,000 strong. We are called to grow in spirit, to be part of that bigger boat that steers through seven principled seas toward unknown harbours.

Canadians, Unitarians – we’re gonna need a bigger boat.

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Obviously Canadian Unitarianism is dying... if in the last ten years we had from 17,000 to 5,000, that says alot of things about the congregations here.

I can personally experience that. When I first came to the church, I wasn't welcomed. There were nice people there, but they did not approach me. And it wasn't hard to miss me: I was the only Asian in the entirety of the congregation!

One thing that Fundamentalist religions taught me, was actually how to welcome new visitors. As a Hare Krishna, whenever someone was new, we would get to know who they were, talk to them, develop a relationship with them in a few minutes. Presentation was crucial! We strove to be personal, and although people may not believe, they walked away knowing that the devotees were nice people who were personal.

I didn't get that community feeling as much in the Unitarian church. Lots characterise Unitarians as cold, intellectual, atheistic, older, white, and well-off. I am Asian, young, walking the line between poverty and low-income, and theistic.

And i just joined the choir. But as much as I love singing, I feel that I should be in the congregation, getting to know people personally, and visitors and guests. The choir gets a special place (there's a choir place above the pews) above everyone else in the church, and I feel that I am not needed there.

seeker57 said:

Many religious denominations are struggling with the fact that church membership, in general, is declining.

I didn't say they were. You misunderstood what I wrote. I didn't say that each and every individual denomination is declining. I said that the number of people who are members of any religious congregation is declining as a percentage of the US population. That is true. Add up all the people who are members of any religious congregation, and compare that number as a percentage of population, then versus now. It is declining. Fewer people are members of churches.

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I did a bit of a search and found that membership at some churches increased last year, according to the National Council of Churches.

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I think you misread the message you replied to. Again: I didn't say that each and every individual denomination is declining. I said that the number of people who are members of any religious congregation is declining as a percentage of the US population.

I'm not sure what the confusion is.

seeker57 said:

I, however, don't think this points to a death knell for UUs. The losses posted are minimal, compared to other churches.

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I agree.

bicker said:

I think you misread the message you replied to. Again: I didn't say that each and every individual denomination is declining. I said that the number of people who are members of any religious congregation is declining as a percentage of the US population.

I'm not sure what the confusion is.

I agree.

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I understand your point, that, overall, based on the total U.S. population, overall church membership is declining.

I was trying, apparently unsuccessfully, to add that there were some increases among individual denominations, and why I felt that had happened.

But you certainly are right. Fewer people, overall, are members of any church.

Seeker

Thanks for the clarification. :chalice:

From Royal Falcon of God:
Obviously Canadian Unitarianism is dying... if in the last ten years we had from 17,000 to 5,000, that says alot of things about the congregations here.

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Unitarians in Canada have been at about 5000 official members since 2001. What this is pointing out is that three times that many reported on the census that they considered themselves Unitarians. So, there are that many people who espouse Unitarian values, but do not belong to a Unitarian church. What Rev. Rodela is calling our attention to is the vast opportunities there are to welcome people into our communities.

Attended the Unitarian Church and like principles. Practice Buddhism now for 37 years, and find that religion is a bit like clothes. "One size fits all" might fit all, but then, sometimes it's better to seek until we find exactly what's right for us as individuals. Also, I think people who feel a sense of spirituality within, but can't buy a lot of dogma are also attracted to the idea of church and might go for Unitatianism.