Religion Yikes! (yep I'm going there.)

I recently had someone ask me if Unitarian Universalist was some kind of cult.  Yeah, seriously someone asked me that.    So yet again, I try to explain the unexplainable to someone that believes in one faith, one god and everything else is false mentality.  It is very frustrating believe me.   It becomes very hard to explain when you know how diverse the beliefs in UU congregations are.  Where else will you go and find pagans, christians, Buddhist, atheist, agnostics, jews and more all together for spiritual fellowship?  Our children learn about ALL religions in religious education because we feel its important that they learn about them and respect the rights of those that follow them to do so.

There are 7 basic principals that Unitarians Universalist all adhere too that bond us together:

1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person (in other words, each person is important)

2. justice,  equity and compassion in human relations ( be kind in all you do)

3. acceptance of one another and encouragement of spiritual growth (we are free to learn together)

4. a free and responsible search for truth and meaning (we search for what is true)

5. the right of conscience and the use of democratic process in our congregations and society (all people should have a voice)

6. the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all (build a fair and peaceful world)

7. respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are all part. (take care of the earth and those that share it with us)

Does this sound like a cult?  Ahhhh but what about God.... Heaven ..  Hell ....gulp... the Devil.

Well this is sticky and hard to explain to someone that only believes one faith, or that only one faith can be true.   There is a joke...

"Why can't UU's sing?" ......... because they are always reading ahead to make sure they agree with the words.

As every UU congregation is different, every UU is different.   It is not our common belief in one specific god, or one specific doctrine that binds us together but the belief that we should all have that freedom to believe what we do and to do the best unto the world and the people in it.  Its our belief that even though we don't share the exact same thoughts, we can still learn from one another and work together to make a community that we are proud of.

Okay, I still haven't addressed what the person who asked "Is it a cult?" was really asking.   They were wanting to know basically how "moral" I was by comparing my personal beliefs with theirs, theirs of course being the bench mark for all that is moral.   

My beliefs are not concrete cut and dry facts to be layed out, so it is always hard for me to explain the concept to someone who believes that there is one god, in the sky, looking down guiding their every move and decision.  In some ways I wish I did believe in a god such as this, at one point in my life I did, life was simple then.  Everything was easily explained by "Its god will" or "God will know".   A lot more things were black and white, good and evil, heaven or hell.   Things are not always as cut and dry for me these days.

God:  I believe that all things are connected, me and you, the land and trees, everything.  I think it is this EVERYTHING that is the true power or spiritual seat.  I believe that all deities of the different religions are representative of that power.  Thats why I believe so many religions and so many Gods that are so different on the surface are essentially the same when you get down to their core beliefs and morals.

Heaven:  I'm not one to believe that there is a physical place such as heaven.  I believe it is more representative of connection we all share.   When one life ends another begins.  I believe our time on earth is but a small blink of time for us, but our souls continue on mingling with each other being kinda of recycled throughout history.   As they mingle with other souls through life experiences and friendships they grow and evolve, much the same as we humans have said to.

Hell:  As I don't believe there is physical heaven, it would be kind of funny if I believed in a physical hell.  I think hell is representative of our set backs our souls sometimes make when we don't live life with the respect of ourselves and others.

Bible:  I joke that my bible is on the shelf with the other mythology.   I don't mean any disrespect by this though.   I think its a great read.  (yes I have read it)  It has many good lessons and teachings.  But do I think this is the only religious book of such?  No.   There are many good lessons and teachings to be learned from all religions, why limit ourselves to one, why can only one be right?  I greatly admire the man that Jesus was, as I do Gandhi and many more great people in history.

I guess what I'm trying to accomplish here is not your conversion to my beliefs, but your acceptance that I have the right to believe what I do.  Your acceptance that I have morals, that you are not some how better than me.   

Is that so much to ask?