Whats In A Name

A Sermon

Unitarian Universalism: What’s In A Name?

I understand that your theme for this month is commitment. Usually, that involves a discussion about how you will make a financial commitment to the church. While that is important, I want to talk about the commitment to a name and what it means to call ourselves Unitarian Universalists.

In the Soliloquy I read by Shakespeare, Juliet ponders on the significance of a name and tries to make the point that things and people should not be defined by their name but the tragedy of the story of Romeo and Juliet is that the two lovers cannot escape their names and end up being destroyed because of their relationship to those names. Names are significant. We need to choose them carefully and then make a commitment to live by them.

I know the title of my sermon may seem controversial at first but that is not my intention. I simply want us to give some thought to what we call ourselves and why. My thesis is that though we call ourselves Unitarian Universalists, our movement no longer is Unitarian. To understand what I mean, however, I will need to bring up some of our histories.

Unitarians and Universalists were once considered two different denominations of Chrsitianity. Unitarians believed that there was one God as opposed to the Trinitarian concept of God in three persons which, of course, included Jesus and the Holy Ghost. Universalists believed that the doctrine of original sin was false. They insisted that no one needed salvation and that idea is echoed in our own first principle which affirms the inherent worth and dignity of every person. The word ‘inherent’ is important here because it means that every person is born without sin.

Unitarianism developed in America as a break away from Calvinism and was promoted by the likes of Joseph Priestley and others. Universalism came to America in 1770 when John Murray arrived on the shores of New Jersey and began preaching. Both Unitarianism and Universalism spread throughout the northeastern United States but mostly retained their Christian heritage. Starting in the early eighteenth century, however, several different theologies began to influence both Unitarians and Universalists. For example, the Transcendentalists had a powerful impact. When Ralph Waldo Emerson gave an address to graduating seniors at the Harvard Divinity School (a hotbed of Unitarian thought) in 1838, it shook the Unitarian establishment. Emerson resigned as minister of his own church because he no longer felt communion was valid. He also declared that moral intuition was a greater guide for religious life than doctrine. In short, he introduced Transcendental beliefs. If that wasn’t enough, in 1841 the philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach wrote a book with the innocent title The Essence of Christianity. The premise for his book was anything BUT innocent when he claimed that God was nothing more than an outward projection of humanity’s inward needs. Feuerbach’s work went on to influence thinkers like Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud and paved the way for many future atheists.

In 1859, Charles Darwin published his seminal work entitled On The Origin of the Species, and the scientific concept of natural evolution was launched and a great rift developed between science and religion. In 1874, the writer Andrew Dickson White published a book entitled The Warfare of Science which claimed that science and religion were to be forever locked in philosophical battle.

In the early part of the 20th century came additional influences. Though humanists had been around since the Renaissance they made a significant impact on religious thought with the introduction of the first of three humanist manifestos published in 1933. At about the same time Alfred North Whitehead was working on his theory of Process Theology which posits that God and the world are interrelated in a constant creative process. Throw into the mix the works of postmodern philosophers and you get an ever widening range of theological concepts. Each of these concepts as well as the increasing availability of translations of ancient sacred texts from around the globe affected American Unitarian and Universalist ministers. By the time of the merger of the two denominations in 1961 the consolidated union of the two looked nothing like its two predecessors.

That merger was a difficult one. Both denominations were worried that their traditions and members would be consumed under a larger, more ambiguous umbrella. This was especially true for the Universalists as they were the smaller and less influential of the two. The name for the new organization was simply an amalgamation of the two denominations that preceded it but it did not actually reflect its true character. From the very start, the UU movement has worked to become a multi-religious and multicultural religious organization that can include Christian theology without being anchored by it.

So what does all this have to do with the name Unitarian Universalist? Well, there has always been a discussion about changing the name. For one thing, it's very long. It has ten syllables which is why many people simply say UU but you have to know what UU stands for before you can use it. Only the name ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ is longer which is why they usually just call themselves Mormons. But it's not just the length that is a problem. I believe the name itself does not reflect who we are.

I think there is a certain commitment to a name. If I call myself a father it is not just because I have a child. There are some very important responsibilities that come with that name that I need to live up to. The same is true if I call myself a teacher. I think it is even more true for the spiritual tradition by which we call ourselves. It used to be that being honest and trustworthy was a way of keeping your good name. Consider the words of Shakespeare in my second reading.

I think the same must be true for the name of our movement. It needs to reflect what we are truly about. If we are going to say that we are welcoming of all people of all faiths, creeds, racial backgrounds, sexual preferences, or any other sort of cultural identity, then our name needs to be as welcoming.

My problem is with the word Unitarian. Universalism is defined as the belief that some ideas have universal applicability. We might say that those ideas include justice, compassion, spiritual growth, truth and meaning, democratic decision making, community building, and respect for all and these things are clearly expressed in our seven principles. The word Unitarian, however, is based on the theology of a single God in a faith tradition that claims freedom to believe in one god, many gods, substitutions for God, or no god at all. You might say that Unitarian stands for unity which might seem like a worthy attribute at first, but if you look more closely, you will see the flaws in the design.

If we are going to be truly open to all faiths and spiritual practices and to the myriad of people who engage in those practices then what we want is not unity. We want to celebrate diversity within a community of people who help each other walk their own spiritual journeys. The only unified thing about us is the spirit of support we provide for one another without requiring allegiance to a common theological understanding. This is even more true as we work to become an anti-oppressive and liberating movement. We need to find ways of living in the world that support all people and we need to find ways to worship which honors and celebrates all spiritual traditions. I do not believe the word Unitarian reflects those needs. I do, however, believe the word Universalism does.

I believe we need to make a commitment to the universal principles of our movement by recognizing and honoring those things which we all need and to which we all aspire. All people need safety and security, love and identity, meaning, and purpose, creativity, and growth. These things are truly universal as are the natural changes in life from birth to adulthood to old age and to the ends of our lives. At different points in our lives we all share joys, we grieve, we suffer, and we celebrate and each of these is better shared with others whom we love and respect. Most importantly we all need to feel connected to one another and to the world and universe in which we find ourselves. That is what a universal religion can do and it is a name to which we can commit ourselves. Without that commitment, we cannot build a beloved community or a just society and that is something this world needs more than anything else.

If asked what denomination I am in I will proudly answer Unitarian Universalist but asked what religion I am I will respond Universalist.

In the name of that which you hold to be sacred, Amen, Ase, and Blessed Be.