The Rev. Melanie Morel-Ensminger
First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans
Sunday, August 9, 2009
It’s become our practice in August to link our services together by a common theme. This summer’s sermon series addresses the complicated issues surrounding the UU ideal of diversity, and hopefully points the way for us to deal better with difference in our congregation so that we are better able to deal with difference in the shrinking global world. This Sunday we look at differences of religious belief; next week, congregational president and former seminarian Reese Brewer will look at political differences among UUs, to remind us that being a religious liberal does not have to mean being a political or social liberal. On August 23, we will end with ideas on how to get along and create strong community without being threatened by difference. That final sermon is entitled “Crossing Over & Meeting Halfway.”
(A note here on difference: this sermon series is not meant to be comprehensive. There are other important differences that can cause concern or division or conflict in UU congregations that will not be explicitly covered in this series, such as differences of age, ability, social/economic class, culture and ethnicity, gender and gender expression, and sexual orientation. Covering ALL of them would be a very long sermon series. We hope that be lifting up these two kinds of difference and exploring ways of “crossing over,” strategies for coping and being welcoming can be extrapolated for all kinds of difference.)
The month of August will close with our Question Box sermon on August 30th, and the congregation will have a chance to meet our new Intern, Charlie Deiterich, and welcome him to New Orleans with an informal party after the service. The Question Box is waiting for you on the table at the entrance. I invite you -- no, I urge you! -- to come up with interesting questions to fill it.
Perhaps the most commonly asked question of Unitarian Universalists has to do with our diversity. After we explain that we have no creedal test for membership, folks ask: “How can you be a church if you don’t all believe the same things?” Even longtime UUs often feel at a loss to reply. In a world where differences can be deadly, where people who disagree on religion, politics, and experience can resort to lethal violence, it is imperative that a religious movement that prides itself on diversity lead the way to show how we can not only get along but build community across chasms of difference. This sermon and the ones that follow attempt to answer that question.
In “Engaging Our Theological Diversity,” the report of the UUA Commission on Appraisal, released in 2005, UUs voiced their affirmation of diversity. Some mentioned “acceptance and encouragement of diversity” as part of their congregation’s mission statement. One minister praised diversity, saying, “Diversity means embracing otherness and in so doing, becoming whole.” Affirming diversity recognizes that no one person or viewpoint is completely right or has all the final answers. By saying diversity is a good thing for UU congregations, we acknowledge that we need each other in our search for truth and meaning.
Some might think that dealing with diversity of belief is new for us, that in an earlier time, when Unitarians and Universalists were separate, or when both were explicitly Christian, that there was no need to worry about different beliefs. You might be surprised to find out how long we’ve been dealing with theological diversity. In the 1700s, Universalism was rocked by controversy between those who believed in no hell, and those who believed hell existed as only a temporary place of punishment. In the 1800s, Unitarians were divided over whether Jesus performed miracles. Through-out our history we have been diverse in belief, and that diversity is increasing. The COA says, “The range of theological views represented in our congregations is certainly wider than ever before.” That situation is not likely to change.
I find 2 things interesting in the Commission report about what makes up our theological diversity today: First, most UU congregations are made up of people holding a wide variety of religious beliefs. Joining the various stripes of liberal Christianity that make up our historic core and the humanism from the early 20th century have been Judaism, Buddhism, Native American, and African spirituality, neo-paganism, Hinduism, Taoism, feminist spirituality, natural theism, process theology, and others. Humanism has also diversified, so that there are now atheist, agnostic, and even mystic humanists. To further complicate matters that were complicated already, there are UUs whose spirituality can only be described with hyphens: UU-Buddhists, Jewish-pagans, or, as in my case, Christian-Buddhist-Humanist-Pagan.
Thus, the dilemma for Unitarian Universalists is that if you value this rich cornucopia of spiritual diversity, there is no other religious home for you. Oh sure, a person who is Christian has Christian churches to choose from, and those who are resolutely opposed to hearing anything religious on Sundays have the Ethical Culture Society, and someone committed to the dharma could join a Buddhist sangha – but those who combine insights from a variety of traditions, and those who are dedicated to the truths that can be discerned in a community made up different religious beliefs have nowhere else to go.
Second, the Commission on Appraisal found, in extensive interviews conducted over several years, that there is no majority or consensus theological position in the UUA at this time. Moreover, there is no group that feels that it’s the mainstream of UUism; instead, every theological group who talked with the Commission – humanists, pagans, Jews, Buddhists, Christians – all spoke of being marginalized in the UUA and in their home congregations. So the second irony is heartbreaking: people of nearly every religious persuasion in UUism have no other place to go – and yet don’t feel completely at home here either. Good question: Is it possible for most people to feel comfortable when theirs is not the dominant belief?
Conflicts in UU congregations over which theology is the “right” one or which language can be tolerated or which holidays can be celebrated can often turn Sunday mornings into battlegrounds. Recent conversations on the online UU Ministers' Chat have touched on this very point. The ministers came to consensus that the most challenging parishioners to deal with are those who insist on an imagined right to never hear anything that offends them or that they disagree with. In moments of anger, some UUs have told other UUs, “You don’t belong here” or "You're not a real UU." The Commission on Appraisal is blunt:
If we truly honor our UU Principles, we cannot simply fight for freedom of religion “out there” without fighting for it “in here.” Theological apartheid has no place in the practice of… religion.
So what are we to do? The Commission on Appraisal report has a lot of suggestions. What follows is a combination of the Commissions’ ideas and mine on how we can build bridges across the theological divide.
First, I believe we as individuals and as a movement will not be able to deal with our diversity until we have made peace with our religious past. Even though both Unitarianism and Universalism began as liberal Christian denominations, and even though UU worship remains culturally Protestant in almost all congregations, what a Loyola professor of mine once called "your typical Protestant hymn sandwich," theological reactivity is prevalent around our Christian origins, and around the use of scripture and the celebration of Christian holidays. Interestingly, the Commission notes that most UUs would rather celebrate an obscure holiday of a non-Western tradition, or hear readings from a foreign holy book than take positive notice of the historical roots of our own faith – a trend the report labeled “exoticism.”
To reconcile with our past, we need not become the old faith again, only give up our denial about what Unitarian Universalism is and where we came from. Rejecting our origins in Christianity cuts us off from the wisdom in that tradition, and makes coalition-building in our local communities more difficult – and renders us less than welcoming to those seekers whose journey has not brought them to dismissing or rejecting the Christian path.
Speaking of welcoming, I believe that Unitarian Universalism needs to practice radical hospitality. Our spiritual forebears were once quite liter-ally “the other” – estranged from their old religion, outsiders and misfits in their environment, often losing livelihoods and security and even relationships. In a real sense, we UUs were all once strangers in the land of Egypt and it ought to be part of our liberal faith today that we welcome the stranger. I have always been proud that one of the historic names of this congregation was "Church of the Stranger" or "Stranger's Church." The Commission report says, “Hospitality takes people beyond their personal boundaries. It demands reaching out past discomfort, as though the empty seat next to you…belongs to the stranger.” We need that kind of hospitality in our churches, in our movement, and in our world, if we truly want to be welcoming and if we truly want to be leaders in peace-making.
Finally, we need to listen to our mamas and talk things out with each other politely. The Commission on Appraisal found that in most surveyed congregations, conversations about theology and beliefs hardly ever happened, because people were afraid that having such a conversation would cause conflict and painful disagreement. The Commission concludes:
Sweeping UU theological diversity under the rug by refusing to talk about it in community is not a healthy way to approach the issue. Tolerance requires conversation, not avoidance. Talking about beliefs, learning from one another, and stimulating everyone’s thinking through open and honest sharing of views should be encouraged in congregational life. Without open dialogue, the diversity that exists within the community cannot [further personal growth].
UU youth groups are famous for their dialogues where deepest-held beliefs are shared; UU adults could learn from the youth and find more ways to hold respectful formal and informal conversations on matters of religious belief, free of insult, generalizations, and dismissal. In this way, we would understand each other better and build a stronger community – and model for the world how people of differing religious beliefs can bond together in love and respect. Let us reach out to one another, sharing what we DO believe, instead of what we DON'T believe.
Four years ago, when representatives of different theological groups in the UUA were interviewed by the Commission, each was asked about their dream for the future of Unitarian Universalism. Would it surprise you to learn that all the visions were remarkably similar, featuring warm community and work for justice? We are more alike than different.
“How can you be a church if you don’t all believe the same things?” By practicing radical hospitality, acknowledging and honoring our past, and talking and listening respectfully to each other, that’s how. So might this be for this church, and for our world! AMEN – ASHE – SHALOM – SALAAM – NAMASTE – BLESSED BE!
