Learning from Others

One of the lovely things about being a Unitarian is that we can respect the spiritual and religious journeys of members of many religious traditions, and also receive inspiration from them. Because of the undogmatic nature of Unitarianism, we believe that all human beings are spiritual beings; and all are able to have a relationship with the Divine Other, which some may call God, some Allah, some Brahma, some Lord, some Spirit of Life, some Ultimate Reality - the list goes on.

The changing nature of the beliefs and values of Unitarians, particularly over the last half century or so,  has been detailed in Vernon Marshall's book The Larger View: Unitarians and World Religions, which I commend to you as a fascinating read. In it he writes: "modern Unitarianism in Britain is a movement that is based on principles, rather than on theology. It acknowledges its origins in liberal Christianity, and respects them, but now affirms the right of its individual members to find their own religious position."

Of course this includes finding inspiration from the writings and teachings of other religious traditions, both Christian and non-Christian. Many people within our movement today are attracted to (among others) Buddhism, Taoism, Paganism and Sufism. I find particular inspiration from Quaker writings and wisdom, from Taoism, and from the poetry of Hafiz and Rumi.

This interest is not just confined to private study; readings in Unitarian worship services will often include something from another religious tradition, because the worship leader finds that it is the most appropriate way of saying what they want to say. And other elements from many different religious traditions have crept into Unitarian worship - meditation, the use of some Pagan rituals, Dances of Universal Peace, Taizé chanting and so on.

This has added immeasurably to the richness and variety of Unitarian worship. And Unitarians are also much involved in inter-faith work: the World Congress of Faiths and the International Association for Religious Freedom both have prominent Unitarian members, and many congregations and ministers are involved in inter-faith work at a local level, working with adherents of other religions to foster compassion and tolerance where they are.

It is my firm belief that learning about and engaging with other religious traditions is an important part of the practice of compassion, so that we may understand others' spiritual and religious practices, rather than fearing them. This will have the dual effect of deepening our own Unitarian faith and practice, and also of enabling us to stand up for inter-religious tolerance, compassion and understanding, in our conflicted world.

A Different Way of Thinking

Hall wrote that “The chief bond of the churches included in the modern General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches is not doctrinal but devotional.” Unitarianism is a faith without a creed – we don’t ask anyone to subscribe to a particular set of beliefs, but we do share some important values, of which more on another occasion.

image: iarf.net

We are a sacred community, in which each person can explore what gives his or her life meaning and purpose. Each Unitarian congregation, each Unitarian society, and the movement nationally, is a faith community made up of individuals on a spiritual journey, who have come together because they share this open and inclusive attitude to religion and spirituality.

We believe that each person should be able to work out what they believe for themselves, and not be under any pressure to sign up to particular beliefs. (In practice, many Unitarians do hold many beliefs in common; but this is not a prerequisite for being a member of the Unitarian community). We believe that all individuals have the right to believe what seems good to them, so long as they have come to that belief using their reason and conscience. Another way of saying this is that we believe in the right of private judgement in matters of religion and spirituality - the movement does not dictate what its members should believe.

However, that doesn’t mean that we are free to believe whatever we like; as I have said, beliefs have to be submitted to our individual reason and conscience, made sense of in the context of our own life experience, and also be bounced off the other members of our Unitarian community. And so again, in practice, there are certain beliefs that are not acceptable in Unitarian communities - homophobia, racism, sexism and so on. Any belief that excludes or belittles another sector of humankind is unlikely to be welcomed in, or endorsed by, a Unitarian community.

And what we believe may change over time. Unlike most mainstream Christian denominations, which expect their members to sign up to a particular creed or set of beliefs, once and for all, Unitarians recognise that as people have new experiences and encounter new ideas, their beliefs may change. The beliefs of most long-term Unitarians will evolve over the years, according to what they see and hear and learn and experience and take to heart. We find this liberating.

Permission to Explore

 “Unitarianism rightly understood is the Religion of the Larger Affirmation.” When I first read these words of Alfred Hall’s more than thirty years ago, it was a very liberating experience. At the age of 18, I had started to question the tenets of the Christianity of my childhood, and had realised with some reluctance that there were some things about it that I found incomprehensible. The concept of original sin, salvation by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the idea of the Trinity - the list went on.

I was searching for a religion that would not force me to subscribe to a particular set of beliefs, a more open and inclusive faith,  which would give me permission to explore the beliefs held by others, Christian initially, but subsequently the sacred texts and writings of other faiths.

Then my father gave me Alfred Hall’s book, Beliefs of a Unitarian, to read, and I realised that I was home. According to Hall, Unitarianism was an affirmative faith, with great scope for exploration and questioning. He explained that Unitarians hold (or at least held when the book was published in 1962, for our ideas and beliefs are not set in stone) that God is a loving deity, who loves all of humankind, regardless of their religious affiliations; that there is a spark of the divine in every person; and that salvation is universal, not just for those who hold the 'right' beliefs. Furthermore, that divinity can be recognised in all living things, and hence the whole universe can be thought of as sacramental. And that the signposts to the divine can be found not only in the Bible, but also in the sacred texts of other faith traditions, and in poetry and other spiritual and religious writing.

Reading these (then to me revolutionary) ideas, on the first page of the book, made me realise that I was a Unitarian, that this was where I belonged, that here was the place I had been looking for, a base from which I could set out on my spiritual journey, in the company of like-minded people, whom I could bounce ideas off, and with whom I could build my own theology.

Hall also claims that Unitarianism is a new way of approaching life and religion, based on an appeal to reason, conscience and your own life experience. And it is an ongoing process - you don't just experience a one-off conversion, and then rest on those fixed beliefs for the rest of your life; every Unitarian has a duty to approach all new ideas and concepts reverently and critically, and take from them what speaks to your own reason and conscience, and what makes sense in the context of your own life experience, in order to live out our lives in the best and truest way we can.