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 God 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 Ultimate Reality: 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, Allah, Great Spirit, Brahman, Mother/Father God, no-god, Goddess, Spirit of Life, Nirvana, etc. Ultimate Reality is not necessarily a deity, 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 theology 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 sin 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 Buddhism 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, Christianity, and Islam 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 Holy Spirit. 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, Krishna, 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 Prophet 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 deities 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 prophets 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.