Exploring Unitarian Communities

Unitarian communities are places where one can work out what one believes and holds sacred in a safe, holding space. These communities may be congregations or fellowships or engagement groups or societies. They will often include members with differing beliefs, but shared values. There are several different types of Unitarian community prevalent in the UK in the 21st century.

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Twenty years ago, Andrew Hill published The Unitarian Path, in which he identified three distinct faith communities within Unitarianism, with the proviso that these were positions on a spectrum, rather than contained or mutually exclusive. In summary, they were: Unitarian Christian, religious humanist and those who recognised transcendence of one kind or another as being at the heart of most religious traditions.

I think that these definitions are still relevant today. Hill concludes that "There are many touching areas and crossover points within these three faith communities. Unitarian Christianity so easily finds common cause with a universalised theism; and a naturalised Christian theism is less problematical for religious humanists. Humanists also find common cause with Christians and theists in values which transcend individual persons, and in appreciating the importance of symbol and myth. All of which brings these three different faith communities to common ground and a shared community."

I believe that there are more than these three faith communities within Unitarianism today: for example, one that has moved away from Christianity altogether, and one in which the earth and the spiritual are at the centre, rather than humankind. And of course there are the agnostics and spiritual seekers, and those who call themselves atheist (in the sense that they do not believe in any divine being). In terms of belief (or lack of it) we are a diverse bunch indeed.

Over the last couple of decades, there has been a move away from the intellectual approach of earlier times, towards a more heart-centred or emotion-centred approach to our faith. Many Unitarians are acknowledging that some mysticism has its place within our panoply of beliefs too.

The existence of these very diverse faith communities, this religious pluralism, is one of Unitarianism's strengths; this ability to accommodate people of differing beliefs. Today, most Unitarian communities in the UK aver what Hill calls "an open acceptance and co-existence of different theological positions." This is evident if you look at the various different societies affiliated to the General Assembly, from the neo-Pagan Unitarian Earth Spirit Network , and the spiritualist Unitarian Society for Psychical Studies, to the Unitarian Christian Association (to name but three). All their members are also Unitarians, and all believe in something beyond the human / natural world. I believe that the great thing about Unitarianism is that there is room for all of us. Even within a small congregation, there could be Liberal Christians, religious humanists, universalists and experientialists. And some of us fall into more than one of these categories. But what matters is that we truly believe that Unitarianism is "the Religion of the Larger Affirmation" and that the values that we share are more important than our diverse beliefs.

I leave you with Michaela von Britzke's vision for  the future of Unitarian communities, when she writes:

"The times require us to move beyond our emphasis on the intellect and our dependence on the pulpit-based hierarchy, to become more expressive, egalitarian, and inclusive. We need to spend more time on holistic learning. We need to deal with shadows and projections, learn to deal with conflicts, work in groups, encounter each other deeply, in pain and joy. Sunday sermons, I believe, are the celebratory sauce for the bread pudding of daily living with integrity." 

In other words, we need to become truly welcoming spiritual communities, places where our individual spiritual and religious quests can safely be undertaken, in an atmosphere of freedom and respect and acceptance. A base from which we can go out and live our faith, not just talk about it.

Unity in Diversity

One of the most oft-quoted Unitarian aphorisms is "We need not think alike to love alike" by our Transylvanian founding father Francis David. Our fierce defence of freedom of belief, within the denomination, and in the wider world, boils down to our belief in this one phrase "We need not think alike to love alike."

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It is a concept sometimes explained by the phrase "unity in diversity", a seeming paradox which many outside the denomination, and indeed many inside it, struggle to comprehend. How can we claim to be one religious / spiritual movement, if we all believe different things?

Alfred Hall maintains in Beliefs of a Unitarian that Unitarianism is an attitude of mind. And this attitude is the key to understanding why, despite our wide-ranging and sometimes mutually-exclusive religious and spiritual beliefs, we manage to hang together as a movement.

For us, being Unitarian means having the freedom to believe what we will (so long as it is consonant with our reason and conscience, and doesn't harm anyone else) whilst simultaneously being a member of a religious / spiritual community, whose members share the attitude that we are all on a spiritual journey together. We come together in community, providing a safe and sacred space in which all can explore what gives our lives depth and meaning. For some this may involve a belief in a divine presence, which they may call God; for some it may be more of an internal process; or a faith in humankind; or a reverence for the natural world.

But the important thing is that we are united in our diversity; united in the mutual provision of this safe and sacred space, in which we may explore our diverse beliefs and faiths, knowing that our doubts and questions and beliefs will be held and respected, and that we will be welcomed just the way we are.

And it is precious.