The Gift of Unitarian Universalism UUFL August 11, 2019 Rev. Leslie Kee

In 1993, religious scholar Joel Beversluis, created The Sourcebook of the World’s Religions for use by the Parliament of the World’s Religions. One of the reasons I like this book is the articles have been written by academic leaders and practitioners within their respective religious traditions. For me, it is important to learn about a religion’s traditional features from someone who is a practitioner of that particular religion.

I would venture to guess that when many of us think about the word, religion, one of the first things that comes to mind is or no-god, whichever the case may be. On 2016’s world stage, religious thinking about God or no-god can be fairly and reasonably described as ‘the perceptions adherents’ hold about : the perceptions adherents’ hold about Ultimate Reality – hmmm, an interesting way of thinking about God or no-god.

In the spiritual way, ultimate reality is an actual phenomenon which is described in many different ways, for example: Source of All, God, , Great , , Mother/Father God, no-god, , Spirit of Life, Nirvana, etc.

Ultimate Reality is not necessarily a , rather it is a concept or belief which embodies the very wonderful and unique human ability to transcend our individual self and encounter whatever it is we hold sacred.

Being a spiritual person means we are literally able to transcend our own sense of self – intellectually and materially. The transcendent experience creates a physical sensation of deep inspiration, of being ‘moved-to-tears,’ or being awestruck by that which is greater than our individual one-ness. A truly transcendent spiritual experience changes us for the better.

For me, inspiration and awe no longer come from worshipping an anthropomorphized deity, rather, they come from an enveloping and very real sensation of experiencing oneness with the universe. In UU-speak, it is a deep understanding of my existence within the web of all creation. I am humble and expansive all at once, and, I am absolutely in love with the transcendent experience – so much so, that it is the foundation and essence of my spiritual practice. As a religious humanist, to value this exquisite human ability is very important because it updates and universalizes the physical experience of transcendence. Within the halls of academia, the too-often devalued and flawed human character has been allowed to transcend the confines of ancient religious stories and mythologies.

To transport the human character beyond myopic cultural narratives by incorporating new psychological and other scientific truths, is to finally allow what is good about being human to take its rightful place beside what is wrong with being human and what is still-to-be-discovered about being human.

When we turn our 2016 focus to Unitarian Universalism, we see one of the best examples of an evolved religion. There are two primary reasons I believe Unitarian Universalism is one of the best examples of an evolved religion, the first being we have transcended the dialectical confines of the ancient argument over whether or not there is a God.

The second is we have revalued human choice and along with it, belief about the nature of human nature has moved away from wallowing in sinful imperfection toward the primal impulse to love first.

Instead of being trapped in the God or no-god conceptual dichotomy, we have shifted our to an inter-personal place where the ability to make informed choices and assume responsibility for them is a good thing. Theologically, it is a rejection of the doctrine of original and an affirmation of our true nature which is to love and flourish.

By dialectically relocating these ancient arguments, many people have become free to actually talk about religion in mutually edifying ways.

In other words, difference is valued and we are free to learn from each other instead of judging and trying to convert each other.

If my assertion is accurate and Unitarian Universalism is a significantly evolved religious tradition, then how do we fit in with the other big players on the world scene? If we were to look at just the numbers, they’d tell us we are barely a blip on the big screen. But one of the things I’ve learned in my 30 + years as a UU, is there is more to it when we say we are an inclusive religion – we may be small on numbers but we are filled to capacity when it comes to big ideas. On the surface, we could do a quick survey around this room and find a wide variety of previous- church experiences. It makes me sad to know so many of us probably share disappointments and even unpleasant experiences from our childhoods and other religious encounters.

It also makes me sad when I think of all who were not, or are not being given an opportunity to explore the spiritual dimension of themselves throughout their years of their childhoods. Children are pure spirits and one of the things a church community can do for them is assure them they are not alone in this world. No matter how far and wide they explore, it is important to know there is always a spiritual home with an open door waiting for their return.

So if Unitarian Universalism’s claim to be an inclusive religion involves more than unconditional welcome for every person who walks through the door; if it involves more than valuing the differences we bring to our religious conversations; and if it involves more than the committing ourselves to the struggle for justice and peaceful co-existence – what is that more?

I would suggest it comes from our genes. If you inventory the religions listed in the book of world religions, I’d say our contemporary UU church includes a myriad of genetic influences from 19 primary genes. Allegorically speaking, these genes are the universal truths about human existence which are embodied in the beautiful assortment of religious traditions scattered around the world. It is the universality of these handful of truths about humanity which has informed and shaped current Unitarian Universalist thinking and practice.

There are a couple of ways to get our heads wrapped around the list of world religions so it is useful for an informed conversation. One of the ways I keep the list organized in my mind is to use a very generalized mental map of the world.

In this way, my western vantage point has traditional African religions being geographically located throughout the African continent. Hindu and Tibetan are historically situated east of Europe and south of Russia in what westerners call the ‘Near East,” places between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Judaism, , and all started in the Middle East and are now found throughout the whole world in many different degrees and concentrations.

Confucianism has its roots in China and is a part of many Asian cultures. Various traditions such as Celtic Wiccan and Indigenous, tend to be location specific, although the neo-pagan, or ‘New earth-based spirituality,’ transcends geography and is found through many places around the world.

To take a class in comparative religions, one would learn things like, which religions are or are not theistic. Christianity is a good example of a theistic tradition because it is organized around belief in a triune deity. It is easy to find clear descriptions of a Father God who came to earth as his own son, Jesus of Nazareth, and then after physical death, returned again as the . A God in three forms.

The Baha’i faith, which is found all around the world, teaches there is a ‘oneness of God’ and this one God is actively concerned about the development of humanity and so He sends messengers such as Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, , Buddha, Christ, Muhammed, and Baha’u’llah to educate humanity in morals and social values. Baha’i’s oneness-of-humanity holds that all humans come from the same original stock therefore all deserve equal opportunities and treatment.

In the Islamic faith, Allah is the Alone-God, and he sent his final revelation for humanity to the Muhammad who wrote it into sacred scripture known as the Quran. The roots of the word, Islam, Sim, Lam, Min, mean to be ‘in peace,’ to ‘be secure,’ and to ‘be integral-whole.’ Hence, Islam means submission to the Will, Law, and Guidance of Allah.. One who consciously surrenders and commits to this divine guidance is called a Muslim.

Judaism began almost four thousand years ago among a pastoral/nomadic and agricultural people known as the Hebrews. The Hebrews rejected the many of the Greeks and Romans who had conquered and then occupied their homeland. Instead, the Hebrews believed in one God whose divine will was revealed through the teachings of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel, and such as Moses.

Judaism is characterized as a religion of deed, a “Way” by which human beings are capable of understanding and responding to God’s teaching. Theirs is a religion based on a covenant with their one Father God and whose spirituality gave birth to Christianity and later played a role in the emergence of Islam. Many Indigenous traditions around the world have similarities and conceptual overlaps with Eastern Traditions in that they are not organized around belief in a supreme deity. Rather, the focus is on the individual person and how he/she understands themselves to be a participant in the web of creation, with our without the help of divine forces.

For example, the goal of Confucianism is to educate people to be self-motivated, self-controlled, and able to assume responsibilities; it has the dual aims of cultivating the individual self and contributing to the attainment of a harmonious society. Confucius based his teaching on the assumption that lawlessness and social problems result from the combination of unenlightened individuals and social structure without norms. One of the most recognized symbols of this tradition is the active energy of the Yang and the passive energy of the Yin, which while working together in an endless process of change is known as the Tao.

Hinduism is the oldest and perhaps most complex of all the living, historical world religions. It has no one single identifiable founder and it encompasses an entire civilization and way of life with roots dating prior to 3000 b.c.e. The basic tenants of stem from the belief in one all-pervasive supreme entity which is both immanent and transcendent, both supra-personal and highest-person, who can be worshiped as both Father and/or Mother of the universe.

Hinduism teaches the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation, and dissolution; and that all souls are evolving and progressing toward union with an ultimate entity, and so everyone will eventually attain liberation. One of the most well-known features of Hinduism is the concept of Karma, which is a process of the soul evolving through many births and deaths until all the karmic results, good and bad, are resolved. One can and should strive to attain liberation from this cycle of birth and death by pursuing one of the four spiritual paths – the ways of Knowledge, Love and Devotion, Selfless Action, and Meditation.

There are many more recognized religions in the pantheon of traditions like, , , Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.

Interestingly, in his sourcebook, Beversluis gives Unitarian Universalism its own chapter which means scholars are recognizing UU as a distinct and meaningful religious and practice. The philosophy of Humanism is also included on this particular list of religions even though humanists do not ascribe to the need for nor existence of a mystical realm or and the guidance of a deity. Instead, humanist philosophy is organized around the belief in humanity’s inherent ability for self-actualization and potentiality.

The philosophy of humanism has been shaped by the publication of the Humanist Manifesto, the second of which was published in 1973. In an excerpt from it we read the words of its authors:

Traditional moral codes and newer irrational cults both fail to meet the pressing needs of today and tomorrow. False ‘ of hope’ and messianic ideologies, substituting new dogmas for old, cannot cope with existing world realities. They separate rather than unite peoples.

Humanity, to survive, requires bold and daring measures. We need to extend the uses of scientific method, not renounce them; and to fuse reason with compassion in order to build constructive social and moral values. Confronted by many possible futures, we must decide which to pursue.

The ultimate goal should be the fulfillment of the potential for growth in each human personality – not for the favored few… Only a shared world and global measures will suffice.

The writers of the 2nd Humanist Manifesto, many of whom were closely allied, or were, practicing Unitarian Universalists, identified 17 common principles which they believe can serve as a basis for united action. They described them as a set of positive principles relevant to the present human condition designed for a secular society on a planetary scale.

As a Unitarian Universalist, and a religious humanist, I contend our evolved religious tradition is more than a collection of respectful attitudes rising out of experiences with other religions. It is clear UU is a ‘real’ religion complete with congregations of believers, furnished and decorated church buildings, and a smorgasbord of various services.

But in a time when organized religion and participation in it is on the decline, how does our numerically small denomination, stand out within the pantheon of living religions? More personally, how do we here in one of the most culturally and politically conservative states in the union distinguish ourselves?

I suggest it is ok to embrace the philosophy of humanism. I self-identify as a religious humanist who belongs to a church which is built around welcoming everyone. We are a church of people who are interested in talking and learning in just about everything!

Our church encourages us to go deeper so we can really know why we fundamentally value each person. For me, inherent value comes from two basic beliefs: first, every baby is born a perfect little spark of the divine – and our primal impulse is to love first, not sin; and second: humans belong to the earth, it does not belong to us.

When I explain my humanist philosophy this way, then an interpersonal space gets created and the universal nature of the values I have just shared becomes the operative principle.

It is clear all living religions offer a pathway toward enlightenment – be it a union with Ultimate Reality – or behaving in ways which are pleasing to God – or complete self-actualization and enlightenment.

This human yearning to transcend ourselves in order to acquire meaning in our lives, is universal, and if articulated effectively, moves the conversation into a different space – a spiritual space where each person’s desire to live a life of integrity, beauty, and accountability becomes grounded in a mutual recognition of our creative and loving nature.

When we encounter the very rare opportunities to actually ‘talk religion,’ I believe it is important for UUs to be able to step up and move the conversation along. I would go so far as encouraging us to take responsibility for inserting some alternative insights.

I beseech each of you to have no fear when you find yourself in these moments! Place your faith in the universal dimensions of the human experience, because your UU religiousness is cutting edge – you are choosing to respond to a prophetic imperative:

… Humanity, to survive, requires bold and daring measures. We need …. to fuse reason with compassion in order to evolve social and moral values. Confronted by many possible futures, we must decide…… Unitarian Universalism is a gift to the world because we get it. Our principles and purposes have tailored the tenants of humanist philosophy in ways which build on the best of religions past, the wisdoms of today, and shared hopes for the future.

We know deep down, Unitarian Universalism is a gift because, right now – today, each and every person’s yearning for a vibrant and healthy web of creation, is the DNA of every world religion. We believe this to be true because, after all, we are all human.

Source: The Sourcebook of the World’s Religions 3rd ed.; Joel Beversluis ed. New World Library, Novato, CA; 2000.