One faith, many paths

Recently I attended the funeral of a good friend who had grown up in my particular faith community, but passed away as a very respected and active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church at 4501 Walnut in Kansas City. Many of his friends from his earlier life were in attendance, and several were confused by the unfamiliar name of the organization as well as by the sanctuary’s lack of traditional Christian symbols. Today I’d like to share a few lines of information about UU and the good people who compose that particular faith community.

An important feature of American life is a commitment to freedom of religion. Our country does not have a national religion and presumes that all religions shall be treated equally. While that has not always been the case in practice, it continues to be enshrined as the political and social ideal to which all U.S. citizens should strive.

Obviously some religions are better known than others. In general we are known as a “Christian” nation inasmuch as the majority of our citizens have historically aligned themselves with one or more of Christianity’s myriad manifestations. But there are many faith communities, both within and outside of Christianity, that make up our wonderful nation. One of these is the Unitarian Universalist church.  

Theologically, Universalism is the belief that it is God’s purpose to save every individual from sin through divine grace revealed in Jesus Christ. Unitarianism, in general, is a form of Christianity that denies the doctrine of the Trinity and believes that God exists as a unitary power. Stripping away all the theological baggage, UU members simply believe that one does not have to believe alike to love alike.

Unitarian Universalism emerged from two different religions: Unitarianism and Universalism, both of which have roots going back hundreds of years. In 1961, these two denominates consolidated to form the new religion of Unitarian Universalism. It is a liberal religion that encompasses many faith traditions; including people who identify as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, pagans, atheists, agnostics, humanists and others. As there is no official UU creed, members are free to search for truth on many paths. Although they uphold shared principles, individual UU members have varied beliefs about everything from scripture to rituals to God.

High among their religious principles is a determination to strive for a world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. They have a long history of working for peace with such noted activists as Adin Ballou, Henry David Thoreau, Clara Barton and John Haynes Holmes. Many UU members today are inspired by the doctrines of nonviolence advocated by Mahatma Gandhi and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

While UU is not exclusively a peace church, many of their members advocate nonviolence. They are dedicated to living their faith and practicing what they preach. They work for justice, including standing up for the full rights of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgendered people and do their best to make the community and the world a better place.