AboutJon Bond Expertise Will answer all questions regarding Unitarian Universalist (UU)church; including ancient history (Universalists go back to at least 250 A.D.) and medieval history (Unitarians look to 1553 A.D. as their beginning) up to merger of the two movements in 1961 and continuing up to present. Am familiar with Christian church organizations and relationship of UUs to traditional churches.
Experience Currently member of Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, Colorado. Past vice-president of Board of Trustees and currently on Membership Committee. Have taught UU history for over 20 years. Have attended Unitarian Universalist General Assemblies (annual meetings held in June) for past 15 years.
Organizations Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, Colorado
Expert: Jon Bond Date: 7/21/2004 Subject: Muslim and UU
Question Hi Again,
Thanks for your reply. It's a lot of help. Ever since I've learned about UU, it's been feeling more and more the right choice for me. I was curious, is there any set ritual or something for converting? Or is it just signing my name on a church registry?
Thanks again,
Sam
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Followup To
Question -
Hi, I'm a 16 year old gay Muslim. I've been having trouble with my faith for a long while now. Since I realized my sexuality. Almost all Islamic interpretations say that homosexuality are a sin, although I don't believe it to be so. I've been sort of depending on myself for the most of my interpretations. I've also found out about UU a while ago. It seems to be something I've been searching for for a very long time. To think for myself without guilt. I'd like to know, is it possible to be a Muslim-UU? As in a UU with Islamic beliefs? Since I'm comfortable with a large amount of the Islamic beliefs but I'd like to depend on myself in religion more than depending on other Imam's interpretations.
Thanks,
Sam
Answer -
Hello Sam:
I'll try to answer your two questions. Remember, I'm one of over 225,000 people and, if you ask another UU (Unitarian Universalist), you may get a different (but, hopefully, not conflicting) answer. I'd like to divide my answer into three parts: a background of our association and then two answers to your two questions.
First - a background (including where the two groups originated): The concept of Unitarianism generally looks to a Catholic priest, Michael Servetus, as a spiritual originator. Servetus was born in Spain in 1511 and died in 1553, after attacking the doctrines of the Trinity. Unitarianism is a doctrinal system characterized chiefly by a belief in the unipersonality of God and the normal humanity of Jesus, as contrasted with the Trinity and the eternal deity (divinity) of Jesus. Most Unitarians I've spoken with reject the divinity of Jesus, but do recognize him (Jesus) as a great moral teacher
Universalism is the theological doctrine that all souls will ultimately be saved and that there are no torments of hell. Universalism has been asserted at various times in different contexts throughout the history of the "Christian church"--e.g., Origen in the 3rd century. The Universalists also denied the miraculous element in Scripture, and rejected such important Bible doctrines as the total depravity of man and the Trinity.
The Unitarian Universalist Association was created in May of 1961 as a merger of Unitarians and Universalists.
Second - your first question - Is it possible to be a Muslim-UU?
There are no creeds, only statements of purpose. We pride ourselves in welcoming atheists and humanists. Recently (in the last six years), the UU organization took a survey to find out what we believe is important in our religious lives.
Almost 10,000 Unitarian Universalists took the time to fill out and return the survey, giving us all an invaluable snapshot of who we are. Our association has been enriched by the knowledge gained from the answers many UUs provided.
This survey began a process designed to reach out to all UU individuals and congregations called "Fulfilling the Promise." This Concept was set in motion by the Unitarian Universalist Association's Board of Trustees. Its goal was to help us move toward agreement about why we come together as congregations and as an association, and what we hope to accomplish.
The survey questions came from individual UUs, as did the suggested responses. More than 500 people helped create this survey. We hope you will find your own experience reflected in the questions and answers, even if the exact language you would use is not perfectly captured here. What follows are the total tabulations for the first 8118 surveys. At least one question deals with your question of "Are Unitarians very accepting of others?" Question number 30 results follow:
Please check the one of the following which best describes your theological perspective:
o Humanist: 46.1%
o Earth/Nature centered: 19.0
o Theist: 13.0
o Christian: 9.5
o Mystic: 6.2
o Buddhist: 3.6
o Jewish: 1.3
o Hindu: 0.4
o Moslem: 0.1
o Other: 13.3
The balance of the questions (age, sex, length of church membership, etc.), gave us a picture of who are demographically and as church persons. They provide a picture of what we say our values in religious community are. Sam, in my opinion, it is clearly possible to be a Muslim UU.
Third - your second question - "Is it possible to be a UU with Islamic beliefs? Sam, as you can see, the diversity of theological beliefs shows that it is, indeed, possible to be a UU with Islamic beliefs. I might add that, in our own local church, we have agnostics, atheists, and followers of Native American customs (sweat lodges, vision quests, etc.) In the survey results, I'm sure those would be categorized as "Other"
Sam, I have just a few words about your situation; that is, being a 16 year old gay Muslim. The Unitarian Universalist Church allows every person to do whatever is right in his own eyes as long as he is sincere about it, including homosexual behavior.--UU became the first denomination to call for the legal recognition of same-sex marriages [Associated Press:6/25/96]; as early as 1970, UUs called for an end to discrimination against homosexuals and bisexuals, and in 1980, UUs resolved that homosexuals should be ordained.
For more information, please feel free to check out our web site http://uua.org/ A good book to check on is "The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide" - ISBN 0-933840-45-4
Thank you for taking the time to question our beliefs and good luck in your search. You're on the right track!
Jon Bond
Answer Hello Sam -
The Unitarian Universalist churches have what is referred to as a "Congregational" form of church government. Consequently, each church has it's own procedures for becoming a member.
In my church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder (Colorado), when a person wants to become a member, they merely sign a membership book and have their "signing" witnessed by one of three people: 1) the minister or 2) clerk of the church or 3) the President of the Board of Trustees.
The minister usually wants to chat with the person, but that is not a prerequisite. By signing the book, the new member indicates that they are in sympathy with the "Principles and Purposes" of the Unitarian Universalist Association. That's all there is to it.
Now, don't forget what I wrote in the first paragraph - "each church has it's own procedures for becoming a member" so the "signing procedure" will vary with each church/group/fellowship.
Send another email if you have any more questions.
