Pagan and UU Theology: Missiology

Last updated on: April 1, 2018 at 2:25 am by Amy Beltaine

Pagan and UU Theology: Missiology 2018-04-01T02:25:34+00:00 Amy Beltaine

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Pagan Missiology: Some Notes

Starhawk, Pagan theologian and Reclaiming founder shares a mission-like statement in her description of the Tradition. It reads in part: [Reclaiming is designed] “to develop personal and communal empowerment, that combination of self-confidence, independent thought, intuition and engagement with the world that enables us to live by our principles and stand up for what we believe in. We see all systems of domination and exploitation, whether based on gender, race, economics, ancestry, beliefs, sexual orientation, physical appearance or capabilities as harmful to individual development and communal harmony. Liberty, equality and social justice are key values in our tradition..”

Circle Sanctuary, the largest Pagan organization in 1992 has as their mission: “Circle Sanctuary is a church rooted in Sacred Land, serving people of Pagan and other Nature-centered spiritual paths. We honor the Divine through nature preservation and fostering Community through celebrations, ceremonies, education, outreach and other ministries.”

Church of all Worlds, perhaps the largest Pagan organization of the 70s has a mission to “to evolve a network of information, mythology, and experience that provides a context and stimulus for reawakening Gaia and reuniting her children through tribal community dedicated to responsible stewardship and evolving consciousness.” The similarity of the CAW mission to the UU missions is striking. Using different terminology they convey the same ideas: Supporting one another in ‘evolving consciousness’, working in (tribal) community to create love and justice in the wider world (Gaia.)

Patheos blog author Tom Swiss asserts “The Pagan revival is in part a response to the urbanization and industrialization of the past few centuries.” on The Zen Pagan. In fact the American Transcendentalists, major architects of UU sensibilities, are responding in much the same way to the same thing. The call is for a religious, ethical, response to the disembodiment and destruction of our earth.

Pagan UUs Making Harmonies

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are UU congregations whose primary identity is Pagan. These congregations, and the CUUPS organization that networks Pagans who are within UU congregations, share similar missions.

Sacred Journey Fellowship in Garland Texas shares the following mission: “…We are a green organization and use our strengths in pursuit of a better world through community and environmental action. We nurture one another’s spiritual growth by providing sanctuary for personal discovery […] We raise awareness of Unitarian Universalist principles, including democratic decision-making, through active involvement in our shared ministry and the community at large.”

In Kansas City Missouri, Gaia Community UU congregation’s tag line is “We care for earth and each other because our lives depend on it.” The mission reads: “Our mission is to provide a spiritual home and point of connection for those seeking to:

celebrate the fullness and healing power of Nature of which we are a part;
honor the divine in all forms, manifestations, and genders;
take responsibility for their spiritual growth in the context of shared ministry and democratic decision-making;
model and to teach sustainable living in both an urban and rural context.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

CUUPS is revising our mission. The project outline is here on the CUUPS website. The draft is available at a previous Nature’s Path blog by John Beckett.

Okay! What attracted you? What distracted you? Have you clarified your own Pagan, UU or other Missiology? Tell all in the comments below!

Unitarian Universalism

Previous Post

April 18, 2015

April New Moon Chalice Lighting

Next Post

April 21, 2015 CUUPS is Pagan Lite, So Untrue!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Current Events CUUPS Press Release Interfaith liturgy Media Review podcast Religious Education Seasonal Reflection Spiritual Practice Summary Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 January 2026 December 2025 October 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 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 July 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

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz