“Our Catholic Faith”
The Rev. Dr. Frank Placone-Willey
Reflection presented at Summit Fellowship, July 29, 2007
Imagine. You are visiting the Unitarian Universalist District meeting or the General Assembly where thousands of UUs are gathered. You get on the hotel elevator and someone notices your name badge. “So you are one of those Unitarians I’ve heard Garrison Keillor talk about on The Prairie Home Companion. . .Just what does your religion believe anyway?”
You are in a hurry to get to your room and back to a meeting. You have 41 seconds with this person on the way up to the 17th floor. Four other people are in the elevator with you. What do you say?
Now, in response to such an inquiry about her faith, a conservative evangelical Christian in this situation might say something like: The Bible says we’re all sinners looking for peace with God and with ourselves. The only way to find that peace is through accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Open your heart and invite him in today. If you want more information, come to my Church, Resurrection Chapel, on Sunday morning at 9 a.m., 555 Atopos street, and I’ll meet you there.
A Muslim might say something like, Our faith has five simple commitments that begin with acknowledging Mohammed as the true and supreme prophet of God. The other four commitments have to do with doing merciful acts, prayer, self-purification and, if possible, making a spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca. If you would like to meet me later in the lobby, I will be happy to sit down and tell you more.
As a UU, do you have just such a true and succinct response available? Having one can be important for a variety of reasons, including at least one very practical one. . .In this age of sound bites, rhetorical spin, seconds-long attention spans, the cause with the clearest, easiest-to-understand message will be more successful at inviting and holding the attention of that particular man or woman who is searching for spiritual comfort and support.
What do you say in 41 seconds? Do you refer the person to UUA.org and tell them to look up the Principles and Purposes of Unitarian Universalism? Do you keep today’s bulletin insert with you to hand out to the few people who will actually ask such a question or take time to read it? This might be a workable solution, but problematic. . .Problematic because this wonderful text is very complex. It takes a long time to read and digest, and its meaning is an ongoing source of discussion and debate even within the UU community. Problematic again, because giving an inquirer the Principles at the outset might not be a good idea because it runs the risk of misleading the inquirer. Contrary to how we often regard them, the Principles we read together today are not a creed or a statement of what we believe as Unitarian Universalists and we don’t want to support this misconception. So, again I ask, what would you say on the elevator?
You could simply try to give your own spin on religion to the inquirer, whether that might be more theistic, atheistic or agnostic. Or you could leave the elevator patting yourself on the back for not complying with the society’s demand that you believe something and declare it in order to fit in or take a position in the shallow spiritual marketplace. If you stumble over your answer, or say little or nothing, as a committed Unitarian Universalist you could leave the elevator feeling with a little sense of failure because you haven’t represented well enough this fellowship and beloved community that means so much to you. Unfortunately, these kinds of responses can unwittingly reinforce the common stereotype that Unitarian Universalists are just a bunch of contrary individualists people who believe whatever they want to believe.
And, of course, I want to acknowledge here that there is usually a grain of truth in every stereotype: We UU’s are frequently contrary in our non-conformity. We do recognize each person’s right to believe whatever he or she wants to believe and visibly support this right by inviting our members to formulate their own theological positions and credos. We UUs are heretical. Historically we have consistently affirmed personal choice and individual freedom as a primary value that rightly exists in service to a compassionate and just world. Furthermore, we and our forbears have repeatedly banded together with other protestors against the principalities and powers in high places: the social engineers and power brokers and influence peddlers and dogmatists who demonstrate active disregard for the poor, the displaced, the outsider, other animals and forms of life, and the environment.
But this is not the whole story. . .and if we look a little deeper into our history, development, and teachings of the saints, sages and scientists of the ages that are a part of our Living Tradition, I think there are at least three basic points of understanding that can help you and me create that true and succinct representation of Unitarian Universalism for ourselves and the curious outsider.
First basic understanding: If you don’t know it already, you need to know that Unitarian Universalism is a creedless faith. We have no prescribed set of religious dogmas or sacred texts to which a member must give assent in order to belong. Contrary to what you might think, the UU Principles are not a creed. They are rather a covenant, a sacred agreement we make among ourselves, to live and act in certain ways. The emphasis of The Principles is on how you and I will behave, not on a particular mythology or set of religious doctrines. In this regard The Principles are more like what Roman Catholics have traditionally called a “rule,” like the rule of St. Benedict or the rule of St. Ignatius. Rather than prescribe our religious beliefs, we commit to the Principles as a guide in our individual and collective spiritual practice.
Second basic understanding: Unitarian Universalism is a truly catholic faith. Some of you were a bit alarmed and raised your eyebrows when I used the word “catholic” in the title of this reflection. The word catholic in this context does not refer to Roman Christianity; it simply means “universal.” Whereas Roman Catholicism is not truly a catholic faith—that is, a faith committed to demonstrating openness and inclusion toward all people regardless of religious conviction or sexual orientation--we UU’s are such catholics. Moreover, not only are we open to all people, unlike most every other religious community, we are willing to engage and entertain every form of knowledge in the quest for life-affirming beloved community. I have yet to find another faith-based institution as catholic as Unitarian Universalism, even among some of the most inclusive religious communities.
Third basic understanding: Unitarian Universalism is pragmatic. The truth of our faith is demonstrated in our actions and their consequences. Our history demonstrates that we are willing to engage every source of knowledge and wisdom—whether sacred or secular, scientific, or mystic, philosophically abstract or realistically concrete—every source of knowledge and wisdom that will help us and our fellow world citizens live justly, compassionately and as fulfilled human beings together.
Based on these three points of understanding, we can rightly say that Unitarian Universalism is more a religious way of being than a religion. And when we refer to our “faith” we are referring not to a particular set of dogmas or devotions to specific deities, personages or teachings, but to a fundamental intention characterized by love, discernment and action for the fullest possible realization of a caring and harmonious world.
So, since I threw out the challenge to you, it is only fair that I share with you my answer to that question: what would I say on the elevator? I think I would say something like: “Unitarian Universalism is a religious way of being. . . in which we make a sacred promise not to live against ourselves or others, but to live as fully and completely as possible for ourselves and others. In our quest for a world in which love, peace and justice prevail, we are willing to study and draw from every form of human endeavor and all available sources of knowledge, whether personal, experiential, religious, philosophical, or scientific. I invite you to join us in making this sacred promise. I invite you to come join our beloved community.
Finally, for me, this summarizes the essence of our living tradition: The content of what we believe is ultimately not that important. What is of paramount importance is whether or not what we believe helps you and me live more completely on behalf of ourselves and others.
