Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
More Voices

Unitarian Universalism

Select a Category Advent Anti-Racism Archaeology Atheism Baptism Best of the Year List Book Reviews Buddhism Catholicism Christian Education Church and State Church Planting Climate Change Conscientious Objection to War Creation Spirituality Death Penalty Didache Disability Rights Discernment Easter Ecology Emergent Church Movement Empire-Critical Ethics Evolution Feminist Theology Film Reviews Gandhi Gospel of Mark Gun Control Hinduism Immigration Reform Interfaith Islam JFK Judaism Jungian Spirituality Lectionary Commentary Lent Letters to the Editor LGBT Marriage MLK Multiculturalism Mysticism Nonviolent Activism Occupy Paganism (Earth-centered Religions) Parables Paul Pluralism Politics Process Theology Quantum Physics Requiescat In Pace Seminary and Divinity School Sermon Series Retrospective Sermons Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Stewardship (Fundraising) The Book of J The Wheel of the Year (Paganism) Theoblogger Challenge Triathlon Uncategorized Unitarian Universalism Worship Resources Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2026 May 2026 March 2026 November 2025 October 2025 August 2025 February 2025 December 2024 October 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 August 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 August 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 August 2009 July 2009 May 2009

November 2013

November 22, 2013

Living the Questions

One of my professors used to say that his favorite time of the year was...

October 2013

October 29, 2013

Scarred, Scared, and Sacred: Spiritual Practices for the Fall Triduum of Halloween, Samhain, and All Souls Day

Can you feel the Wheel of the Year turning? Can you feel fall in the...

October 12, 2013

Building the Beloved Community: Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in a Local Congregation

Blackmail, blacklist, black mark. Black Monday, black mood, black-hearted. Black plague, black mass, black market...

September 2013

September 30, 2013

Interspirituality: Experiencing the Heart of the World’s Religions

I believe the future of religion is a spirituality that is interfaith at its core........

September 26, 2013

Water Communion and David Foster Wallace’s “This Is Water”

David Foster Wallace (1962 - 2008) is perhaps best know for his 1996 postmodern novel...

September 10, 2013

Building Your Own Theology

My last post on "Unitarian Universalism in 30 Seconds: Developing Your UU Elevator Speech" ended...

September 09, 2013

Unitarian Universalism in 30 Seconds: Developing Your UU Elevator Speech

What is Unitarian Universalism? What do UUs believe? Those are questions that most Unitarian Universalists...

August 2013

August 26, 2013

Why “Spiritual And Religious” Is More Radical Than “Spiritual But Not Religious”

Almost two years ago Lillian Daniel, the Senior Minister of First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn,...

August 06, 2013

How to Respond to Hard Religious Questions from Your Kids

Note: This article is a guest post from Lora Powell-Haney, the Director of Religious Education...

July 2013

July 28, 2013

Embracing Pluralism, Building Bridges, and “Common Action for the Common Good”

“I am large, I contain multitudes.” (Walt Whitman) “Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah.”...

July 15, 2013

Conscience, Civil Disobedience, and Holy Obedience

In 1973, Gene Sharp, who is now in his 80s, published a trilogy of books...

July 11, 2013

“Who’s In Charge Here?”: The Dance between Shared Ministry and Authority

Unitarian Universalists are heirs to a proud tradition of heretics bucking unjust authority. As in...

June 2013

June 22, 2013

“Standing Your Sacred Ground”: Highlights from Eboo Patel’s Ware Lecture

Yesterday was the second full day of this year’s annual Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly....

June 21, 2013

How to Motivate Members of Your Congregation to Do More

At each year's Unitarian Universalist Association annual General Assembly (GA), multiple official events happen concurrently...

June 18, 2013

Spiritual and Religious: Highlights from Lillian Daniel among the UUs

Lillian Daniel is the author of the new book When "Spiritual but Not Religious" Is...

May 2013

May 06, 2013

Pragmatic Buddhism, Westernized Dharma, 21st-century Sangha

When I was about fifteen years old, I accidentally ran into some of the classic...

April 2013

April 22, 2013

Wendell Berry, Climate Change, and Earth Breathing

Wendell Berry is the author of more than fifty books of poetry, fiction, and essays,...

April 08, 2013

Did You Just Send That Woman To a Church To Get Help with an Abortion?

Today, in the year 2013, when we reflect on what it means to talk about...

April 01, 2013

Practice Resurrection

There’s a man I’d like to tell you about — a man named Hermann Gunkel....

March 2013

March 21, 2013

What Is Our Conveyer Belt? Stages of Faith

This post's title (“What Is Our Conveyer Belt?”) is a reference to a chapter in...

March 11, 2013

Preventing Gun Violence

Consider the following sampling of gun violence in the U.S., drawn only from the weekend...

March 04, 2013

Why Is There Something Instead of Nothing?

Does the universe have a purpose? I am not sure. Anyone who expresses a more...

March 01, 2013

Another World Is Possible: Repealing the Death Penalty

Inconsistency: Since 1978, less than 1% of Maryland’s 13,000+ murders resulted in a death sentence....

February 2013

February 19, 2013

Zero Dark Thirty: Torture, Disavowal, and the Oscars

This is what should be done by those who are skilled in goodness, and who...

February 13, 2013

Giving Up Lent (for Lent?!)

One of the most interesting parts of my transition from being a pastor in a...

January 2013

January 29, 2013

A Single Garment of Destiny: MLK and Savoring the Victories for the Dream Act and Marriage Equality

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick, Maryland, where I am the minister, recently hosted a...

January 28, 2013

The Stories We Choose to Tell Matter: Highlights from Unitarian Universalist History

Unitarian Universalists may not believe, with Henry Ford, that history is bunk, but many probably...

January 25, 2013

A Whirlwind Tour of Liberal Religious History: Compilation

This post is a compilation of my five post series on Unitarian Universalist history in...

January 25, 2013

A Whirlwind Tour of Liberal Religious History: Major Developments in Unitarian Universalism

This post is the final entry in a five-part series on Unitarian Universalist history in...

December 2012

December 23, 2012

Blue Christmas: When Your Days Aren’t Merry and Bright

In my family mourning was not done publicly. Therefore, I, as a child, assumed it...