![]() This experience feels like the end of a journey, like a homecoming in which individuals who have been spiritual nomads find a religious oasis. The come-inners experience a religious community characterized by “freedom-from,” a freedom of belief that is both refreshing and liberating. ![]() This is particularly important since Unitarian Universalism is largely a tradition of “come inners,” those who joined a congregation as an adult, with a minority of “born-inners,” those who grew up within our tradition. By doing so, we are better able to align our actions with our values. By doing so, we create a more reliable internal compass that orients us to our true north. While the traditional definition of theology is the study of God, Gilbert suggests that it can also mean a “field of study, thought, and analysis that discusses religious truth.” The authors of Engaging Our Theological Diversity understood theology “to include the full range of religious and philosophical beliefs (not just theistic ones) and humans’ understanding of the meaning and purpose of life and of Ultimate Reality.”īecause theology in our tradition is not prescribed, it is incumbent upon each of us to build our own theology. … We neglect the responsible use of theology at our own peril.” Such reflection helps a congregation preach what it practices, and practice what it preaches. Unitarian Universalist minister Richard Gilbert wrote, “if we are living, breathing, hurting, laughing, crying, questing human beings, it is impossible not to be theologians.” Anthony Robinson stated, “Theological reflection is a way to align what we believe with who we are. ![]() This Project was created to facilitate theological reflection as Unitarian Universalist congregations participate in the work of constructive theology. In the report they noted, “One fact has become clear in the course of our conversations with UUs concerning the issue of theology: With rare exceptions, conversations about beliefs and theology are not regular features of our congregational life.” The result was their report, Engaging Our Theological Diversity (May 2005). Harvey Cox, a prominent Protestant theologian and a professor at Harvard Divinity School from 1969 to 2009, said that Unitarian Universalism was “thick on ethics, but thin on theology.” Others in regard to Unitarian Universalism have put it more directly by quoting Gertrude Stein: “There is no there, there.” This kind of critique prompted the UUA’s Commission on Appraisal to work for four years on the topic of theology. ![]()
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