It's what I thought it was, and I'm glad I went. No bibles, nobody mentioned Jesus or even God! It's church without the annoying parts. This one is a small fellowship, and they have a modest but nice building. There were inspirational talks, the kids pulled a little red wagon among us to collect donated canned goods. It was potluck Sunday, so yummy food after the service. During the service, some people were sipping coffee. Everyone wore casual but nice clothing. Today's speaker was a yoga instructor telling us basic things about that. Every week they talk about something entirely different. There were a wide variety of people there, but it seemed there were quite a few teachers, social workers and university professors from EKU there. I stayed for "religious education" class, which was not religious, but a lesson on how to encourage the downhearted and how to approach charitable work. What a refreshing contrast to TSCC church! I'll probably go back.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2015 08:28PM by rationalist01.

It sounds very civilized. I plan on checking out my local UU church one of these days. I'm glad that you enjoyed your experience.

I've thought about checking out the local UU church, but still haven't gotten around to doing so. The best part of that is that it's down the street from the Mormon building I attended.

I moved from Utah Valley to Eastern Kentucky about 18 months ago. Culture shock ensued. Everyone here has their social and cultural structure built around church, but there are an incredible number of different churches. Yes, the Mormons have a small presence. It's insignificant, though. I have had no social life so far because of how it's done here. I'm finally reaching out a bit, though. I went to UU church today, and also have had some contact with Kentucky atheists and free thinkers. A typical introvert, I guess. 18 months to get around to socializing a little bit!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2015 09:30PM by rationalist01.

Cool bunch. I attenended for a year or so.

You'll hear more about the Easter bunny than that Naz dude.

You'll also recognize a lot of the hymns. With cooler lyrics.

My Oxford dictionary defines church as: 1.a building used for Christian worship 2. a particular Christian organization with its own distinctive doctrines 3. institutionalized religion as a political or social force.

Random House dictionary is similar in its definition.

Serious questions: On what level can UU be described as a church? Do those who attend use the term "church" to describe their meetings?

kentish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My Oxford dictionary defines church as: 1.a
> building used for Christian worship 2. a
> particular Christian organization with its own
> distinctive doctrines 3. institutionalized
> religion as a political or social force.

Gee, that didn't come from a majority CHRISTIAN country, did it?
I mean, of course no religions other than christianity have churches...

Other religions do not generally if ever use the word church.

for once, Bona Dea's right

Church
Old English cir(i)ce, cyr(i)ce, related to Dutch kerk and German Kirche, based on medieval Greek kurikon, from Greek kuriakon (dōma) ‘Lord's (house)’, from kurios ‘master or lord’.

although I do note that western theists do often talk about [other religions] places of worship as 'churches'... eg; 'a Gurdwara is a Sikh Church'

They use whatever word is appropriate from their language. for example, Sikhs have their religious services in a Gudwara.

Church is just a habitually used term. I attended a local UU Fellowship.

I've been going to UU for 10 years. Every congregation is different. If you are in SLUT the Salt Lake Church is super political, agnostic and social justice oriented. The Sandy congregation tends to be a bit Christian.

I never attended Ogden but heard the congregation is really great.

After spending a lifetime in LDS Inc. I was left with a longing for real community with people that ACTUALLY shared my values... and they don't mind if you don't show up every Sunday.

The UU's sucked me in and I finally found my people.

kentish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My Oxford dictionary defines church as: 1.a
> building used for Christian worship 2. a
> particular Christian organization with its own
> distinctive doctrines 3. institutionalized
> religion as a political or social force.
>
> Random House dictionary is similar in its
> definition.
>
> Serious questions: On what level can UU be
> described as a church? Do those who attend use
> the term "church" to describe their meetings?

As long as you are into authorized definitions (and what's up with that anyway?), here is Wiki's of UU:

Unitarian Universalism[2][3][4] is a liberal and syncretic religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning".[5][6] Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed but are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. The roots of Unitarian Universalism (UU) are in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and Universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love, so that congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.[7]

The theology of individual Unitarian Universalists ranges widely, with the majority being Humanist,[8] but also having members that follow atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, deism, Judaism, Islam,[9] Christianity, neopaganism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and many more.[10]

End of quote. Some trace its roots back to Protestant Reformation and early Unitarian thinkers were hunted down and burned at the stake. The genuine religion, however, seems to be American and rooted in the Age of Reason in New England.

Congregations vary and experiences within congregations vary. I have been a (desultory) member for years. The lovely old gay couple who taught my Building Your Own Theology class rather frowned on belief in a deity. But on the other hand, some are believers. I'm always a little surprised when I meet them.

I think it's important to realize it is not as outside mainstream Christianity -- or religions -- as some here might think. Hinduism also easily includes atheists, agonistics, deists, theists, monotheists, pantheists, and polytheists -- without blinking an eye. I think many Christians don't literally believe in much -- they see it more as symbolism or they attend for the community. I know I had a friend from California who rather looked down on religion in Utah in general. Her father was a Presbyterian pastor, and she always said the Presbyterians of California were like the Unitarians of Utah. I think that even some stern and rather strict appearing sects, such as the Lutheran, will have surprisingly liberal-not-literal members. It happens. To say nothing of the Quakers.

I'd say it falls under "3. institutionalized religion as a political or social force."

By the way...

Dictionaries don't dictate, they *report* how words are being used.

As the old saying goes, "A dictionary is a book of history, not a book of law."

PEOPLE--speakers, writers--give words their meaning. Dictionaries exist to help readers keep up with the trends in how PEOPLE are using words.

My understanding is that the SLC UU churches consider LDS to be
their farm team.

I have been a UU for 15 years--my congregation is very social justice-oriented, too. Marched in Indianapolis for same sex marriage, etc. as Shummy mentioned, most of the hymns are way cool--some use the same music as the hymns in the Methodist church where I was raised, but the UUs changed the lyrics. Their RE program is really great--the kids are not taught what to think or believe, but what the religions of the world believe, and how to think for themselves. Yay! Here are two UU jokes for you: What do you call an atheist with children? A Unitarian Universalist. Second joke--Why are UUs such poor hymn singers? Because they're always reading ahead to see if they agree with the words. LOL! Our congregation does call our church building a church, but I know there are some who prefer "Fellowship" or another term, although many do use the word church in their name, and some have really unusual names, like--there is one called "Church of the Larger Fellowship." I really like going. There are a lot of Purdue professors, etc., in our congregation, and all kinds of interesting stuff going on. Our last minister was an atheist who was raised Jewish, and her husband was a Buddhist. Our current minister self describes as a Transcendentalist, and his wife is an atheist, and they are a mixed-race couple. Cool church, because everyone is welcome, from liberal Christians to Pagans to atheists and humanists of all stripes, along with gays, lesbians, bi's, transexuals, etc. :) If you miss having a regular Sunday thing to do, and would like to make new non-Mo friends, I recommend giving the UUs a try. And when you have time on your hands, try googling "Famous Unitarian Universalists." You will be surprised to find 4 or 5 of our founding fathers and early US presidents, along with a host of other people whose names you will definitely recognize!

UU's are pretty rare where I live. The nearest congregation is an hour and a half away from my home. So I will not be attending.

I cried.
When they asked us newbies to introduce ourselves I said, "I never imagined I'd hear "Imagine No Religion" in a church service before, but that's my anthem! Thank you." Everybody laughed. haha

The Unitarian and Universalist faith traditions, which began separately but joined up in the 1800s, were both originally derived from interpretations of the Christian faith. Christianity is one of the spiritual roots of the UUs.

Our congregation is called a church, and we meet in an old church building that used to belong to a Presbytarian congregation. Nobody looking at that building would think it was anything other than a church.

Today I learned that their building here in Richmond, KY used to be a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall!

It sounds very cool.

Well there's one thing about my year as a UU investigator (did I say that?) and that is a moment I shall cherish......

It was the one and only occasion when I've ever heard Steve get up and speak in church.

The air was thick with irony for me that Sunday.

:o)