While driving to my husbands orientation for his first college class in years we were talking about the possibility of the UUA opening its arms wider to the Atheist - or the New Atheist. We wondered what it would look like if we took that group into our churches and celebrated what they have to offer.
Then my husband said, "they won't come if you continue to have muddled talks about god."
And he is right.
We won't bring in the exciting and vibrant branch of new Atheists that are out there because we are currently on a path towards muddled theism. We are trying to be watered down Christians, Buddhists, or other theist schools of thought... and because of that the Richard Dawkins crowd will not enter our doors.
What does that mean for us as UU's? I suppose we can create more made up rituals that feed someones need for ritual, we can say more "prayers" or "offerings" - or recreate rituals that we found comforting from other faith traditions. All of that leaves the Atheist out, but that might not be a problem that is of interest to the group as a whole.
My new question:
Would it bother me if it was Buddhist, Islamic, or even Pagan? - The knee jerk reaction is, yes - but the reality is no. I think my strong reaction to the God language that is being used in our Unitarian churches is because it comes from Christian theology.
I feel as if I am slowly living in a Christian country and I am offended by that. I am offended that the Christian doctrine, however it is interpreted, is seeping into every aspect of my life. As you know, I live in the South and in particular the Bible Belt and I am inundated with Christianity every day. We have schools that teach abstinence, Atheists can't serve in public office in Arkansas, dinosaur museums that preach creationism, families praying at Taco Bell, our Quorum Court prays each time it meets - the list goes on. My freedom to not practice religion is constantly affronted with small and large actions every day and that makes me uncomfortable. I am beginning to wonder how different we are to another religious State?
Personally, if our government would just declare us a Christian Nation (I know many have) and demand worship to that particular God I wouldn't feel so uncomfortable.
It is with the slow evolution of it that makes me nervous at every mention and why I am feeling the need to defend my right to participate in the church that I grew up in. My grasp of history is shaky at best, but I believe that ideas spread slowly and without care we could be marching to the same god - I do not want to see that happen.
And so, the UUA can continue down the path of muddled and watered down Christianity, but I think we are missing our opportunity to take a stand - one of openness to all - rather than some.
