I joined a Unitarian church.
A lot of what lovesong has to say rings true to me. I feel very similarly about them, although lovesong and I have widely contrasted spiritual preferences. They are like a United Nations of faith. A philosophy of faith as you will, rather than a doctrine. At its worst, though, I find it to be almost anti-spiritual because I've come to realize that many Unitarians don't want to talk about any faith or belief system at all. As well, many UU congregations preach very liberal ideas and concepts. They don't have any central book, but instead encourage members to seek the truth with any book they read. I would like for there to be a central book, or books. Many atheists, humanists, and other non-believers has used this religion as their spiritual home because there is no creed in the religion. It's a novel idea, but when you take their seven principles and six sources to consideration, you start to realize that you almost have to have more faith to be a Unitarian than it does to be a Christian.
I know of a Christian friend that respects Christ, the Gospels, and the New Testament, almost to the point that he doesn't respect any other faith or religion, He doesn't even consider it. Unitarians are quite different: the faith of a Unitarian is the admirable consideration and respect for all other religions. Their hymnals that are in every congregation includes verses from various religious sources. And I want to say this: by becoming a Unitarian, it would be very hard of someone to also be very focused or fundamentality set on one spiritual faith. I know there are UU groups that include Christians, Buddhists and so on, but to be me, being a Unitarian is about seeing the commonalities within those sects rather than the differences.
I joined the church a year and a half ago, and I've probably visited that one church maybe eight to ten times for Sunday service. I went to a YANKS group meeting which is just a lot of talking and eating somewhere - when I mentioned God it got really quiet. I've probably seen as many interviews and sermons on the Internet on Youtube as I've participated in real-life sermons and activities. You know how they say that religion has something to sell you? This doesn't, in any way. Not once was I pressured to donate more than I could. My church expects a tithe but with my income being so low they told me I didn't have to pay it. I have donated a little almost every time the plate was passed around through. It's worthy to note they split all the income they get and give a part of it to a local charity. My favorite Unitarian is a minister named Aaron White of the Unitarian congregation in Dallas. I like the way he approaches things and he has an excellent series of videos that go in depth about the Unitarian history and what it's all about on YouTube. A simple search would find what it's all about.
After thinking about it, I think I do understand why Belief-O-Matic considered me a Unitarian more so than anything else. It's because I do read the Bible from time to time, but I've also gotten into the Quran, the Aqdas, and other important texts. Unitarianism more than anything else is about respect, not belief. I don't believe everything the Bible says, but when I read it, I understand and grasp why people view this one holy text to be so important. Unitarianism is like a religious agnosticism. Whenever I take Belief-O-Matic I'm always marked 100% Unitarian. I have deep considerations for many belief systems. I like to learn, hear, talk, and discuss just about everything. Being a Unitarian also allows me to be me. I have my own solar holidays I would like to follow, and my own spiritual concepts that I would like to write a book about one day. If you check my religious affiliation on Facebook, you'll see I'm a Unitarian Universalist rather than what I put down here, an Exaltist.
More on that later.
