Spiritual Paths in Unitarian Universalism:
Can Mind and
Spirit Meet?
This Spiritual Paths Project
explores the diversity of spiritualities
within the Unitarian Universalist movement
world wide.
Perhaps there are a dozen different paths
interweaving in our movement.
Each of the persons of spirit
included in this project
identifies himself or herself as a Unitarian Universalist.
We are a creed-free movement,
but being without prescribed systems of
beliefs
does not mean that UUs have no
beliefs.
On the contrary, we are free to believe
whatever suits us.
The only limitation seems to be that we must be able to explain
(using some recognizable form of reason)
what we believe and why we hold those beliefs.
Hence our diversity of spiritual paths.
We are all UUs because
we allow reason to temper our beliefs.
The world is filled with thousands
of forms of 'faith',
but most of them have little respect for critical
reason.
In open societies, we have complete religious
freedom.
Such openness sometimes
leads to free-for-all believing.
'New Age' religions provide many examples
of what happens
to human imagination when it is not tempered
by critical thought.
Pop spirituality seems to operate on this
principle:
"If it makes you feel good, believe
it."
Such 'spiritual hedonism' has sometimes infiltrated
UU circles.
But usually critical thinking takes the wind
out of the sails
of new forms of belief that were merely windy
spiritual speculation.
Some participants in the
Spiritual Paths Project
have a spiritual traditions
behind
them.
Each of these participants will offer a bibliography
explaining further the form of spirituality
he or she represents.
These bibliographies will give the audiences
for the various formats of the Spiritual Paths
Project
reading materials that further explain each
spiritual tradition.
Links to on-line bibliographies will be provided
as well as links to other background information on the Internet.
Some specific groups have
already identified themselves
and given themselves names
on the website of the Unitarian Universalist
Association:
http://www.uua.org
These include:
Covenant
of UU Pagans
HUUmanists---Association of UU
Humanists
UU
Buddhist Fellowship
UU Christian Fellowship
UUs
for Jewish Awareness
Others spiritual
paths will be identified and named
as the Spiritual Paths Project develops.
Other participants in the
Spiritual Paths Project
will be individual Unitarian Universalists
who have defined for themselves their own
spiritual paths
whether or not they have a spiritual tradition behind
them.
Because Unitarian Universalism is an open-minded religious movement,
brand new forms of human spirituality will be welcome,
as long as such approaches can explain themselves.
Created
August 12, 2000; Revised 11-18-2009; 4-12-2012; 5-2-2012; 2-11-2015;
Return to the opening page of the Spiritual
Paths Project.
Return to the UNITARIAN
UNIVERSALISM
page.