Showing posts with label Gadfly Papers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gadfly Papers. Show all posts

Friday, August 27, 2021

Quote of the day - Without a vision the people will perish



Unitarian Universalism has failed to create a meta narrative around which people can collaborate and thrive. This failure is the biggest challenge facing the denomination at both the congregational and the association levels.

Editor's note: The Unitarian Universalist leadership has failed to create a vision for the denomination around which people can coalesce with united energy. It has fractured into affinity groups such as UU Buddhists, UU Christians, UU Humanists, etc. Further, it gets side tracked into social justice issues without there being an spiritual framework to support the social justice work.

Every congregation has developed its own schtick which facilitates separation and division rather than unity and a shared understanding of the essence of the faith.

Without a metanarrative which all UUs can share, the denomination will never grow and flourish. 

Friday, August 20, 2021

Why are Unitarian Universalists engaged in social justice work?

 


The mission of facilitating spiritual growth gets captured by special interests who want to use the organizational resources to advocate for social justice causes that are peripheral to the prime mission and vision of the organization. This organizing around social justice issues cannot sustain a mature organization because the motivations are situational and relatively short lived.


Unitarian Univeralist congregations are not social justice agencies. UU churches are not social activist organizations. Social justice and social activism organizing is best left to the professionals. The mission of Unitarian Universalism is to provide covenantal relationships where spiritual growth and development an be facilitated. 

If this spiritual growth and development can be facilitated by  corporal works of compassion and mercy social justice work can be a vehicle to nourish such spiritual development. However, social justice work is not the purpose of UU churches itself but a means to another end which is to raise the consciousness of people engaged in the work and those with whom they interact.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Quote of the day - UU and self righteous indignation




 "Many people have walked away disgusted from Unitarian Universalism because of the self righteous indignation expressed by those in power to silence those with whom they disagree. This is one reason that congregations and the denomination remains so small and has little influence in the broader society."


Editor's note: Common complaints heard about UU is that it is too intellectual, it relies on psychobabble, that the people don't seem to love but want to argue in committees about inconsequential things. With the lack of a common core of understanding about the vision and mission of the faith, the people wander and then fight amongst themselves and then go their separate ways in a huff with disgust never to return. The lack of any central authority which can reconcile disagreements leads to egocentric functioning based on individualistic belief that everyone's preference is as good as everyone else's and thus we observe the modern day version of the Tower of Babel

Friday, August 6, 2021

Quote of the day - The pernicious dynamic in Unitarian Universalism

 "Safetyism is a pernicious dynamic which is stultifying the life and grace of Unitarian Universalism especially in light of the fourth principle which is the free and responsible search for truth and meaning."


Editor's note - Safetyism refers to shutting down of free speech by claiming that the words of the speaker are harmful to the person objecting because it hurts their feelings.

Sunday, August 1, 2021

Notes on the Gadfly Papers as a flipbook.

 

 You can download this booklet as a PDF and save it and/or print it as you wish.

The Gadfly Papers - If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.



If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.


In the third essay in The Gadfly Papers, “Let’s Be Reasonable” Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof provides a crash course in logic and a critique of Robin DiAngelo’s book “White Fragility” and its misuse by those in UUA leadership who argue that the UUA is racist.


Eklof’s effort to ‘be reasonable” and appeal to a sense of rationality and logic falls on deaf ears of people who don’t have the ears to hear. Jesus says, Let those with the ears to hear, hear. Not happening. At least not anytime soon, with those at pre-rational levels of thinking kicking out and marginalizing those with rational and post modern ways of thinking.


It seems that Peter Morales and Scott Taylor jumped ship when the waters got turbulent, and according to the Fifth Principle Project more ministers are leaving the UU Ministerial Association every day.


In my short involvement in Unitarian Universalism over the last 16 years it seems like schism, abandonment, and rejection are the go to coping mechanisms when conflict occurs in Unitarian Universalism. The inability to resolve conflict is the major stumbling block for the denomination and has contributed to its stagnation, paralysis, and lack of growth.


Until UU creates conflict resolving mechanisms within its congregations and the Association, it will continue to struggle and dissipate. Perhaps a new denominational structure will have to be created which has a good balance between hierarchical authority and respect for congregational governance. Is that possible or are the two things antithetical? The Roman Catholic Church has been doing it for over 2,000 years.


The last thing to be considered that Eklof seems to miss in his critique is the lack of a meaningful mission for the UUA and many of its congregations. It seems to me to be first and foremost a social club with fellowship and civic participation a main theme much like Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and the Elks. Second, many congregations and the UUA seem to adopt social justice agendas as if they were social agencies advocating for societal betterment just like any secular social service and social justice agency. Third, the facilitation of spiritual growth of members and society seems to be a forgotten activity and component of its mission and is addressed only marginally if at all.


The failure to pursue the mission of spiritual development appears to be a lack of theological training for clergy, and education and support for laity. The perennial theology is rarely discussed or raised as a topic worthy of UU time and energy. In this marginalization of its spiritual mission,  UU fails in its primary function in society.


Without a clear sense of mission at the Association and the congregational level, UU will continue to wander in the desert of our post modern society with no compass to guide its members who then will peel off and look for truth and meaning elsewhere.


As the old proverb says, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” And the second proverb, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”


God bless Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof for his courage and erudition for speaking up and bringing our attention to some of the problems in UUA. He has apparently gone against the grain, upset the able cart, distrubed the status quo and got his ass kicked out of the UUA and UUMA. He seems to be one of the few people who really care about the denomination and is willing to put his career and integrity on the line for it.


Thanks again!


Tuesday, July 13, 2021

UU: Divorce or rejuvenation?


UU: Divorce or rejuvenation?

It also remains doubtful Universalism’s pre-merger Judeo-Christian tradition, its faith in Jesus, or its belief in universal salvation will still resonate with more than a few remnants after a denominational split. On the other hand, Unitarianism’s historic commitment to reason, freedom of conscience, and our common humanity are part of what draws and holds many individuals to Unitarian Universalism even now, though the UUA itself pays little homage to these cherished principles. Indeed, many are likely to become deeply troubled upon learning of the UUA’s deviation from these core values and will seek an alternative, either by demanding institutional change, or deciding to abandon a faith that has abandoned them. For these, I hope a renewed commitment to Unitarianism alone will be a better alternative, along with the formation of a new association of Unitarians, including individuals and their communities, that can finally move forward toward our common goals because we have reconnected with our historic past. 


As in many a marriage, it is possible to initially be drawn together by a shared passion, to marry because of common interests, to share many years of happiness together, but to eventually grow apart, realize the relationship isn’t working anymore, and to finally break up, hopefully departing as friends. I suggest that time has come for our denomination, and, with this essay, propose its members begin seriously discussing the dissolution of the UUA.


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


You can’t have a divorce and complain the marriage didn’t work if it was not, in good faith, even been tried. 


The seven principles and the eight sources are the ties that bind but they are rarely discussed in a thoughtful way as the values and roots which bind UUs together. What has contributed to the failure so far with the merger is poor leadership and dysfunctional governance. The failure to educate and train the ministry and lay people is a significant factor in the denomination’s malaise.


It is not time to throw in the towel but a time to roll up our proverbial shirt sleeves and get to work. UUs have excellent values which are sorely needed in a weary world which has lost its spiritual foundations. It is time for a vitalization of the perennial philosophy which is found in an interreligious understanding of what is fundamental to being human.


There is a need to move beyond the egocentric and ethnocentric levels of consciousness to the worldcentric and integral levels. UU is poised to do this, but it lacks the nerve and a theology which plots the course and provides the tools. It is time to step up, not call it quits. 


There are small groups like UU A Way Of Life ministries and others willing to venture forward to create a preferred future where the seven principles provide a framework and sustain the mission. Join us today.


Sunday, July 11, 2021

How to join a UU church? "Just sign the book."




                                                             Just sign the book

In the report’s concluding remarks, Rev. Paul N. Carnes, who would later be elected President of the UUA, stated, “religious liberalism has little to meet the challenge of today's need, or win our own personal need, if all it offers is a casual ‘Join us and you can believe anything you want to’—as if religious convictions were to be left to such ephemeral judges as whim and wish!”[127]


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister pp.71-72


When Rev. Dr. Eklof quoted Rev. Carnes, it made me laugh as I remember the first UU church I got involved with around 2005. I had attended several times and after a service asked the part time minister what I had to do to join the church. He said, “Sign the book.”


I said, “What?”


He said, “Just sign the book.”


I said, “What book?”


He said, “The membership book.”


I said, “Are there any classes or instructions regarding the qualifications for membership?”


“No, just sign the book,” was all he said.


I thought to myself, “What the hell kind of a church is this?”


Now looking back I don’t know whether it is more funny or cruel. I think it is a sign of ministerial incompetence. I am reminded of Groucho Marx’s comedic statement that he didn’t think he would want to be a member of any country club that would admit any person like himself into membership.


What kind of a church would just take anybody into a covenantal relationship without even explaining to the prospective member what that relationship might involve? More was required for me to join Rotary that to join a UU church. 


No wonder UU is dying and can’t attract and retain committed members in meaningful covenantal relationships. Is it a matter of easy come, easy go? If we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything.


Saturday, July 10, 2021

UU offers the hope for a spiritual journey but provides no map.


 Spiritual journey with no map

This jumbled, if not relativistic, understanding of what Unitarian Universalism means to UUs themselves becomes apparent in a 2005 Commission on Appraisal report entitled, Engaging our Theological Diversity, asking UU members, “What holds us together?” One participant said, “It’s the support network.”[118] Another saw “the UU movement as an interreligious dialogue.”[119] Another said UU congregations are comprised of “people who didn’t fit in”[120] anywhere else. Still others actually complained about us not having a common belief. “This is where the UUA falls down,” they said, “and why you have CUUPS and the Buddhists and the Christians and all these little subgroups—because we offer the hope of a spiritual journey, and we offer no tools to do it with.”[121]


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition.  


In his Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays, in the second essay, “I want a divorce,” Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof points out that after the merging of Unitarianism and Universalism in 1961 into Unitarian Universalism, the denomination was set off on theological drift. Since then It has wandered aimlessly. And while it talks a good game, and says some attractive things, it doesn’t deliver the goods.


Eklof cites the 2005 Commission on Appraisal Report which writes that while UU offers a hope for a spiritual journey it offers no tools. The sermons of UU ministers and lay leaders are a composite of social justice themes and self-help psychobabble. Instead of a lectionary, some congregations have monthly themes like “hope,” “kindness,” “mercy”, etc. Most of these sermons amount to a motivational speech based on pop psychology rather than an informative explication of theological concepts based on the perennial philosophy. There is no common core of understanding, values, and/or ethical vision tied to any meta narrative and overarching theological understanding.


It seems that UU stands for nothing and anything will do to fill up worship time and pulpit sermons. 


To solve the problem of amorphous ambiguity some congregations try to create a center of gravity by using one of the six sources and so they tend to be focused on Christian concepts or Buddhist concepts or humanistic concepts or Earth Centered philosophies. This can be somewhat helpful to local congregations but does not help with a broader affinity at the Association level. What is it that all UU congregations believe and hold in common? Herein lies the Tower of Babel that is the source of trouble for the dysfunctional  organization that is the UUA.


Eklof suggests that a divorce may be indicated but  another option is a transformation to a higher level of cultural maturity which would embrace and teach the perennial wisdom that all religious traditions have in common. This requires investment in training and funding interreligious teachers and scholars and improved training for UU ministers and lay leaders. The people are hungry for it and need it in order to continue to grow and develop spiritually. It is what we are committed to here at UU A Way Of Life.


Monday, July 5, 2021

Mission creep leads to UU enervation.



Mission creep leads to enervation. 


In the second essay entitled “I want a divorce” in his book of three essays, The Gadfly Papers, Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof discusses the history  of Unitarianism, Universalism, their merger in 1961, and the resulting “identity crisis” which has plagued the denomination ever since.


Our common quest for the elusive “elevator speech” to explain what Unitarian Universalism means is but one symptom of our own organization’s identity crisis. After more than five decades since the merger, many Unitarian Universalists still don’t know how to adequately describe their religion to themselves, let alone to others. Some find it with so little meaning of its own that they feel compelled to add other traditions to the mix, describing themselves as Buddhist UUs, Christian UUs, Pagan UUs, Humanist UUs, etc., etc.


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


The passage above is humorous and sad. Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote seven principles which flow from six sources. They are easily summarized on  a colorful bookmark sold by the UUA bookstore. It is easy to describe the UU religion if one is properly educated and trained which most are not. The mystery is why not?


The failure to properly educate Unitarian Universalists in the fundamentals of their faith is because they are too easily captured by social justice special interest groups who want recognition for their grievance rather than a deeper understanding of the spiritual nature of their existential dilemmas. 


UU has lost its way because of the failure of its clergy and lay leaders to pursue a spiritual journey rather than a secular quest. UU has been enervated by its mission creep. What it needs is a spiritual revival so that it can regain its mission in the world and its vision of the fulfillment of what it might become: a conduit of spiritual solace to a weary world.


Sunday, July 4, 2021

Is UU dividing its members by catering to special interests?


 Topic Eight

Unitarian Universalism catering to special interests.


Fortunately, Unitarian Universalism need only recall its roots to embrace an ethic based upon our common humanity. Even so, at this crossroads in our history, it has become a choice we must make. Will we abandon this principle as part of the “institutional change” our denominational leaders are now initiating, replacing it with the divisive philosophies of safetyism, identitarianism, and political correctness, or will we wholly embrace it that we might wholly embrace each other? Will we listen to the voices of our ancestors calling us forward, or, even while claiming not to believe in Hell, pave our way there with good intentions?


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


Rev. Todd Eklof ends his first essay in the Gadfly Papers, “The Coddling Of The Unitarian Universalist Mind,” with the idea that if Unitarian Universalism is to survive it must mature, grow up, and overcome its current dynamic of siding with those who want to play the victim at everyone else’s expense.


There is a difference between a rebel and a revolutionary. A rebel separates and divides and attacks as a victim those it perceives as oppressors only to take on the role of the oppressor themselves. The revolutionary, on the other hand, transforms and brings about healthy systemic change.


The political climate of Unitarian Universalism over the last two decades has been to identify with the victim and attack their so called oppressors indiscriminately thereby overlooking the good of the whole.


Eklof is calling for a more systemic understanding manifested as cultural maturity among UU leaders and members. This cultural maturity is facilitated by the “acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations” which is UU’s third principle which has been overlooked and set aside by the current UU leadership. As Eklof suggests, it is time to get back to basics and start living our principles, not some social justice agenda promoted by special interests.


Saturday, July 3, 2021

What's really important in Unitarian Universalism.


What's really important in Unitarian Universalism


Since, and this again is the point, there is no consistency regarding when or how a word might be determined offensive, PC also has a chilling effect on any kind of meaningful dialogue, as, again, is its purpose. “In our identitarian age,” Shadi Hamid, of the Brookings Institute, says, “the bar for offence has been lowered considerably, which makes democratic debate more difficult—citizens are more likely to withhold their true opinions if they fear being labeled as bigoted or insensitive.”[70] 


Hence, within the deafening, though comfortable, echo chamber political correctness fashions for itself, in which its practitioners hear only their own unchallenged and unexamined absolutisms bounced back to themselves, real people are silenced, publicly shamed, demonized, or have their motives and minds uncharitably and unethically psychoanalyzed by those with no qualifications for doing so.


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


Under the banner of “Political Correctness” speech and thinking is squelched. This is antithetical to the Unitarian Universalist principle of affirming and promoting  the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.


Many times in Unitarian Universalist meetings people seem to be afraid to say what they think. There is judgmentalism in the rooms that leads to a lack of genuineness, sincerity, and authenticity. How is spiritual growth to be nurtured and encouraged when participants are not free to explore their own souls? Once again in the pursuit of social justice, spirituality is marginalized and repressed. This is another example of how Unitarian Universalism has lost its way and forgotten its mission which is primarily to encourage and nurture spiritual growth. It is a religious organization not a social justice agency.


The perversion of UUs mission and vision is a failure of leadership in all components of the organization. Unitarian Universalism needs a revival, a self reckoning, which, hopeful, would help the organization refocus on what’s really important, which is facilitating the search for the Divine in all aspects of our human experience.


Thursday, July 1, 2021

What happens when the bullied bully?

 

Topic Six

What happens when the bullied bully?


This, understandably, has also led to an emerging pattern of “defensive self-censorship”[63] by those anxious about the possibility of being called out and publicly demonized or humiliated. In addition to making it more challenging for students to “practice the essential skills of critical thinking and civil disagreement,”[64] Coddling says, “Many in the audience may feel sympathy for the person being shamed but are afraid to speak up, yielding the false impression that the audience is unanimous in its condemnation.”[65] It is based upon a few private conversations I’ve had with a small number of other Unitarian Universalist ministers that I anecdotally infer this same trepidation also exists among some in the UUA. There are those deeply concerned about what’s going on at our Boston headquarters, in our theological schools (Meadville-Lombard and Starr King), during clergy gatherings, and, increasingly, in our congregations, yet are afraid to say anything about it for fear of being ostracized. Yet it is my hope enough of us will find the courage to voice our concerns so our religion might enter into a genuine dialogue about these difficult matters.


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


What happens when people who complain of being bullied become bullies themselves? It is not just the reactive bullying which is a problem but the self righteous indignation which seems to serve as a justification for such behavior. This kind of polarization is destroying the espoused covenantal relationships that so many UUs pay lip service to.


It is time to move the covenant forward with leaders who are differentiated enough that they can develop relationships with all parts of the whole. This kind of cultural maturity is what Charles M. Johnston calls “parts work.” It is what family therapist Boszormenyi-Nagy calls “multidimensional partiality”, and it's what Dr. Dan Papero and Dr. Carrie Collier at the Bowen Center For The Family call “systems thinking.”


Will UU leaders be able to develop the maturity and skills to lead such a multifaceted denomination as Unitarian Universalism? It remains to be seen. There is some glimmers of light on the horizon with leadership popping up in disparate places and the formation of such groups as the Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council (UUMUAC)


Tuesday, June 29, 2021

When callout culture is uncharitable.


 Topic Five

When callout culture is uncharitable.


it is not a good idea to start by assuming the worst about people and reading their actions as uncharitably as possible,” Lukianoff and Haidt tell us, “This is a [cognitive] distortion known as mind reading.”[59] 



When applied in this way, the misappropriation and misuse of the term “microaggression” becomes another mechanism for dismissing and silencing the voices of others by openly shaming them and making them chronically anxious about saying anything for fear it might be misconstrued as inappropriate. Referring to this practice as the “callout culture,” Coddling says, “anyone can be publicly shamed for saying something well-intentioned that someone interprets uncharitably.”[60] When used in this way, this misapplication of “microaggression” is not merely a form of mindreading, but of mind control.


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


The idea of a “microaggression” is a helpful concept if used in the appropriate context, but when taken out of context and used as a weapon to manipulate and control the speech of people it can be destructive.


This “callout culture” and attempt to shame other people as a means of controlling them is a favorite tactic of the self righteous left in which, unfortunately, Unitarian Universalists  participate. In pursuing a social justice agenda, UUs have forgotten their spiritual mission to facilitate the awareness of holiness in every person. 


Unfortunately, all too often the leaders in UU congregations and the UUA instead of manifesting mature leadership have joined and enhanced this dynamic of calling out and shaming the ideas of others. Rather than handling comments “charitably” as Lukianoff and Haidt suggest, the calling out of alleged microaggressions is used as a weapon to attack others and accuse them of suspect motives and thinking inappropriately and uncharitably. These attacks give rise to silencing, marginalization, exiling, and withdrawal and our congregations and Association rather than being better are worse off for it.


Sunday, June 27, 2021

The kind of leadership UU needs.



 The kind of leadership UU needs.

Banishing those with whom we disagree, or banning them from saying what we disagree with, has been part of social control, in varying forms, for a very long time. Those doing the banishing or banning always feel morally justified doing so because they believe they are squashing or repelling the dangerous and harmful ideas of those they exile, torture, execute, or otherwise silence. From exile and ostracism practiced in ancient Rome, to the Crusades, Inquisitions, heresy trials, and McCarthyism, those responsible have considered it their religious and moral responsibility to suppress the “dangerous” voices of those with whom they and their communities disagree.


 Indeed, history suggests the first step in subjugating others is suppressing their freedom of speech. This is why linguistic colonialism (alt. language imperialism) always accompanies the spread of empire. As Spanish grammarian Antonio de Nebrija recognized in 1492, “siempre la lengua fue compariera del imperio”[53] (language was always the companion of empire). Or, as British colonialist Edmund Spencer admitted in 1596, “it hath ever been the use of the Conqueror to despise the language of the conquered and to force him by all means to learn his [own].”[54]


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


The idea of silencing others by enforcing norms of political correctness has been a “thing” for the last 20 years in our society. The term “linguicide” names the problem that we are challenged by in Unitarian Universalist congregations. It seems the whole denomination is made up of “church ladies” parodied in the satirical Saturday Night Live skits. Many church ladies and gentlemen  attempt to control a congregation by threatening to leave meetings if participants didn’t conform to their desires in what and how ideas are expressed. They are a powerful force in controlling discussions which participants are scared to upset for fear of being set up as a perpetrator of some sort of linguistic violence which then allows them to play the victim and rupture the covenantal relationship.


Playing the victim to control others is a subtle game very well played in Unitarian Universalists circles and meaningful dialogue is squelched and stagnation and paralysis occurs. People being set up to be perpetrators usually leave rather than take a principled stand. It takes great maturity and skill to deal with these dynamics which the majority of people don’t possess.


Is there  a better way? Of course. It takes mature people to take a stand and remain connected to others. There are few to be found in UU and therefore the denomination is dwindling. Can differentiated leadership be developed which can facilitate the amelioration of these dysfunctional dynamics?  It can, and it will take naming the qualities, skills, and competencies being sought. The Bowenian systems theory students call it “differentiation.” Charles M. Johnston calls it “cultural maturity.” Ken Wiber calls it “integral leadership.” Probably only 10 - 20% of the population function at this level and it is from this group that UU leadership must come if it is to survive and thrive as a religious denomination.


Saturday, June 26, 2021

Unitarian Universalism has lost its way.



 Topic three

Unitarian Universalism has lost its way.


The puritanical pressures now being instituted by internal denominational forces to control the narrative of others—both who can speak and what they can speak about—and, thus, the overall group mindset, represents a form of oppression Unitarianism has, until now, resisted. Using shame, self-righteousness, and enraged warnings about dangerous ideas and hurtful speech in the name of justice and righteousness, is no less than the excuses some once used to burn Unitarians at the stake, to cast stones at Universalists as they preached, and to kick them as they tried to debate, insisting, “You have said enough, quite enough!”


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


Many people have walked away disgusted from Unitarian Universalism because of the self righteous indignation expressed by those in power to silence those with whom they disagree. This is one reason that congregations and the denomination remains so small and has had little influence in the broader society. In spite of the expressed covenantal affirmation and promotion of the fifth principle, “the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process…” in practice the application falls far short of the ideal.


Unitarian Universalism is not a big tent but extremely small and generates resentment and animosity from those it treats with contempt and disdain. This situation has existed for decades because of the lack of leadership which has been obsequious to mob rule. This is not democracy but a form of nihilistic narcissism which promotes the idea that there is no truth and everyone’s opinion is a s good as everyone else’s opinion as long as it agrees with mine. This level of group consciousness is egocentric and sociocentric and fails to evolve to a more world centric and integral understanding. 


The mission of facilitating spiritual growth gets captured by special interests who want to use the organizational resources to advocate for social justice causes that are peripheral to the prime mission and vision of the organization. This organizing around social justice issues cannot sustain a mature organization because the motivations are situational and relatively short lived.


Will UU find its way back to a substantial mission that facilitates the spiritual growth of the members and the society within which it resides? It doesn’t seem like the leadership and the membership is much interested in this mission and so the organization may continue to dwindle and dissolve.


Unitarian Universalism has failed to create a meta narrative around which people can collaborate and thrive. This failure is the biggest challenge facing the denomination at both the congregational and the association levels.


Friday, June 25, 2021

Righteousness - The UU sin


Righteousness


In denying, further, that “Sometimes there are no two good sides,” and, by implication, this is one of those times, the writer further justifies extremist thinking and behavior. In this case, the writer’s belief is not only presumed to be right but righteous, and, therefore, must be defended, even if doing so means denying the freedoms of those who disagree with the writer’s morally absolute “side.”


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


Religious thinking often resorts to righteousness. “We are right and everyone else is wrong.” Polarization is not only encouraged but believed to be not only desirable but the only legitimate position to be taken.


This is very common in Unitarian Universalism in spite of the lip service paid to the idea of affirming and promoting a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This is all well and good as long as the truth and meaning we hold as sacrosanct is honored and supported. Disagreement and other ideas are seen as a threat and attack and some people immediately take on a victim role and say things like “I didn’t come here for this. If you continue with this train of thought, I’m leaving.” This is a very common strategy for managing conflict and tension in UU congregations.


What is to be done about this? What will take for more mature ways of managing tension to be learned and utilized? In A Course In Miracles there is a wonderful question, “Would you rather be right ot be happy?


Thursday, June 24, 2021

Safetyism - The toxic virus infecting Unitarian Universalism


Safetyism


Lukianoff and Haidt have coined a term to describe this belief that it is morally correct that some freedoms, especially the free flow of ideas, be sacrificed in the name of safety. “Safetyism,” they say, “refers to a culture or belief system in which safety has become a sacred value, which means people become unwilling to make trade-offs demanded by other practical or moral concerns.”[1] Safetyism, additionally, extends the traditional understanding of what being safe means. “Their focus on ‘emotional safety’ leads many of them to believe that… ‘one should be safe from not just car accidents and sexual assault but from people who disagree with you.’”[2] Since disagreeable ideas are, thus, considered harmful and injurious in a culture of safetyism, many of its adherents feel justified in using violence to protect themselves and others against dangerous beliefs. As a UC Berkeley Op-ed claimed after a violent protest there, “physically violent actions, if used to shut down speech that is deemed hateful, are ‘not acts of violence,’ but, rather, ‘acts of self-defense.’”[3] Whether violent or not, safetyism reflects a value system that stands in opposition to free speech, not unlike the mindset of those legislators who passed the “Patriot Act” after 9/11, which sacrifices individual freedoms in the name of national security.


Eklof, Todd. The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister . Kindle Edition. 


Safetyism is the toxic virus which is destroying Unitarian Universalism. I have noticed it since I got involved on UU congregations around 2005. There always seemed to be hidden agendas and I noticed that some ideas were quickly marginalized and silenced subtly if those in power in the congregation didn’t like them.


It is a cancer that has metastasized throughout the denomination which has been identified with difficulty managing conflict and disagreements. Tension management is a huge problem for UUs. One person told me she left her UU congregation because everyone was “too nice.” “Nice” people are stealthily dangerous.


Nowadays there is a new vocabulary which has emerged stifling free speech and expression of ideas under the umbrella of “microaggressions” which require “trigger warnings” so spare people hurt feelings and the complaint of not feeling safe. These plaintiff complaints shut down the free expression of ideas and articulations of feelings. To abide by the norm requiring “niceness” people just walk away as congregations dwindle and the denomination becomes stagnant.


Todd Elkof is highlighting this issue and suggests there is a better way. Many agree with him although those in power have ignored him or essentially shunned him and his troubling ideas. Elkof is calling for a self reckoning for UU congregations which is long overdue.


Safetyism is a pernicious dynamic which is stultifying the life and grace of Unitarian Universalism especially in light of its fourth principle which is the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This dynamic has gotten worse with the increase in female leadership at the congregational and association level. Awareness of this dynamic is the first step forward to positive change. If you can’t name it, you can’t manage it and safetyism is a huge barrier to further denominational and congregational growth and evolution.


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