Fundamentalist Atheist Unitarian*Universalists aka U*Us Repel Yet Another Spiritual And/Or Religious Unitarian*Universalist. . .
Somebody going by the name Shyloh made it abundantly clear that intolerant and abusive "fundamentalist atheist" "Humanist" U*Us still make plenty of Unitarian*Universalist "churches" anything but "Welcoming Congregations" to spiritual and/or religious people. Without further ado here are the comments that Shyloh submitted to Rev. Victoria Weinstein's 'What I’d Prefer To See' post on her Peacebang blog -
I left a uu church almost 3 years ago - in this particular church there was such a lack of respect for anyone with “spiritual” beliefs that were associated with religion. Any religion. I want to venture out again and am gathering up my courage to go to a church that is a little further away- but has a larger congregation and (at least on line) looks like it honors diversity of belief along with diversity in ethnicity, sexual orientation etc. I’m trying to talk myself into going tomorrow.
I like my spirit with a little edge. Unfortunately in the previous church it was all edge and no spirit. But I don’t want a church that smiles and smiles, avoids controversy and participates in what I call “token charity events”. I hope to find the church that mirrors the images you were suggesting for ads. Wish me luck.
Comment by Shyloh — June 26, 2009
After reflecting a bit on what I wrote I want to make something a bit clearer. When I wrote about the lack of respect for any kind of spirituality I meant contempt and ridicule*. Sometimes subtle, often overt. It was a small church* (Editor's note: What a surprise. . .) with, as I came to learn, a core group of what I would call “fundamentalist atheists”*. I welcome and enjoy respectful discussions, debates, disagreements. I’ve learned quite a bit from those kinds of conversations, at times even changing my perspective. I also never expected the church to cater to my particular beliefs. Among other things, I was attracted to the UU tradition because it didn’t cater to any one religious creed but instead offered principles that, in my mind, support the diverse whole.Tomorrow morning I hope to find a church that truly embraces diversity of all kinds.
Comment by Shyloh — June 27, 2009
* my emphasis
I left a uu church almost 3 years ago - in this particular church there was such a lack of respect for anyone with “spiritual” beliefs that were associated with religion. Any religion. I want to venture out again and am gathering up my courage to go to a church that is a little further away- but has a larger congregation and (at least on line) looks like it honors diversity of belief along with diversity in ethnicity, sexual orientation etc. I’m trying to talk myself into going tomorrow.
I like my spirit with a little edge. Unfortunately in the previous church it was all edge and no spirit. But I don’t want a church that smiles and smiles, avoids controversy and participates in what I call “token charity events”. I hope to find the church that mirrors the images you were suggesting for ads. Wish me luck.
Comment by Shyloh — June 26, 2009
After reflecting a bit on what I wrote I want to make something a bit clearer. When I wrote about the lack of respect for any kind of spirituality I meant contempt and ridicule*. Sometimes subtle, often overt. It was a small church* (Editor's note: What a surprise. . .) with, as I came to learn, a core group of what I would call “fundamentalist atheists”*. I welcome and enjoy respectful discussions, debates, disagreements. I’ve learned quite a bit from those kinds of conversations, at times even changing my perspective. I also never expected the church to cater to my particular beliefs. Among other things, I was attracted to the UU tradition because it didn’t cater to any one religious creed but instead offered principles that, in my mind, support the diverse whole.Tomorrow morning I hope to find a church that truly embraces diversity of all kinds.
Comment by Shyloh — June 27, 2009
* my emphasis
Comments
Are you "name-calling" me a tool Paula? :-)
Just kidding. I will take your "ax-grinder" comment as a compliment Paula and will point out that in *some* parts of the U*U World "useful tools" are considered to be weapons of mass* destruction. . . So, with that in mind, maybe I will take your "useful tools" comment as a compliment too!
I am quite gratified that you found some inspiration for the Dogma post of your Paula Reed blog Paula. Not only that but, in reading that blog post, I feel quite validated. The more U*Us who are similarly inspired by this or other post on The Emerson Avenger blog the better for the U*U World AFA*I*AC. Feel free to be similarly inspired by other TEA blog posts Paula. I will comment on your blog post soon enough but have other priorities at the moment.
Thanks for your U*U heads up here, and thanks also for your thoughtful 'Dogma' blog post which acknowledges that the anti-religious intolerance of the "fundamentalist atheist" subset aka faction of Humanist U*Us is a problem and that Unitarian*Universalists must address their own intolerance. For the record I posted to petitions to the Standing On The Side Of Love Campaign Facebook page recently. One calls upon U*Us to stand on the side of love for God believing people who face exclusion, oppression, and even violence within the U*U World itself. The other petition calls upon U*Us to stand on the side of love for Republicans and other political conservatives who face exclusion, oppression, and even hate in the U*U World.
* "mass" as in U*U church services.