Congregants' Understanding of God and other Religious Lanuage

Because Unitarian Universalism’s seven core principles do not include any mention of a belief in God, some congregants believe in God and others do not. Of the congregants who do believe in God, each congregant interprets the word “God” in their own way. Although words like “God” do not emerge frequently at the First Universalist, it is important to keep in mind that Unitarian Universalism is rooted in Christian faith. Unitarianism and Universalism began as two distinct faiths and did not converge until the 1960s. According to the Unitarian Universalist Association,”though Unitarianism and Universalism were both liberal Christian traditions, this responsible search has led us to embrace religious teachings from Eastern and Western religions and philosophies.” The Association also makes it clear that many belief systems exist among Unitarian Universalists, and “we think for ourselves and reflect together.” Topics such as the existence of a higher power, life and death, sacred texts, and prayer are all up to individual interpretation as well as collective reflection. ¹

Congregant Channing Mckinley said that the church celebrates traditional religious holidays, “but in an open way.” She said, “ There’s always a nativity at christmas, there’s a Passover celebration, there’s something going on at Kwanzaa and Ramadan.” The goal, she said, “is to respect all religions.” People at the First Universalist range from “total atheist” to “very religious.”²

Even if their understanding of spirit or life energy or God or whatever is different, I know that that they have the same commitment to connection between individuals, and working to make this world a more just and sustainable place.

Because congregants at the First Universalist hold a diverse array of religious beliefs, the use of religious language at church services can cause tension and disagreement. Polly Talen remembers this tension from during Senior Minister Justin Schroeder’s introduction to First Universalist. Polly said that the very first time he preached, he used the word “God.” After he used it for about the fifth time, he said, “Are you counting how many times I used the word God?” Polly said, “everyone laughed nervously like ‘Yeah, we are!’ because for some people who were raised in churches the word “God” had been been misused-- as a punishing figure.”

When the First Universalist considers bringing a new minister to the team, that candidate “meets with every constituency imaginable.” Polly noted that the number one concern that emerged within each constituency was, “What’s about all this ‘God’ stuff?” ³

According to Polly, responding to congregants’ concerns about the use of religious language, Justin made the point “terms like sacrament, prayer, and, God were not something that the religious-right owned. It was incumbent upon us to reinterpret them for ourselves.”⁴

Executive Minister Jen Crow also recognized this tension. When she first started in the ministry, the use of religious language was something she worried about a lot; she didn’t want to “offend” congregants, but instead wanted “to have as many paths in as possible and less barriers” when preaching. “Typically in a prayer,” she said, “there’s an indication of who the prayer is addressed to.” Jen has found that it works for her to “just skip that altogether because to me it doesn’t even matter. It matters in my own personal prayers, but as a community, it’s that we’re doing this act together.”⁵ As Channing Mckinley said, “the ministers are very brave at a Unitarian Universalist church because no matter what they do, they’re going to hear from people.” Although it is impossible to please all congregants, Channing said, “What is true for me and I believe is true for Justin and the current ministers is that they can talk about God, but the God is not person in the sky, it’s your own definition of God. For Channing, “it’s about community and hope. For some people it’s about nature. I think most people are comfortable with that, but it’s certainly not a God.” ⁶

Congregants at the First Universalist tend to see the wide range of religious beliefs as an asset of the church, not as a problem. Denise Konen expressed her joy in the “wonderful challenge” that she might be “sitting next to an atheist or a pagan or someone who believes in God or Jesus.” She said, “It’s good for me to hold that and say that’s the way the world’s supposed to be. We can accept each other.”⁷ Channing similarly appreciates the knowledge that her belief system might differ from those around her. She said, “Even if their understanding of spirit or life energy or God or whatever is different, I know that that they have the same commitment to connection between individuals, and working to make this world a more just and sustainable place.”⁸ The wide range of belief systems also allows congregants to learn from each other about belief systems that differ from their own. Denise discussed Wellspring, a two week program in which participants discuss death, grace, the history of religion, the concept of God, and other related topics. Participants in the program range in their faith journeys and histories. As Denise explained, although the group is all Unitarian Universalist, the members come from a "variety of beliefs and religious backgrounds." This allows for intellectually stimulating discourse and exchange of knowledge from different vantage points. ⁹