Recent Sermon

Title

Who Holds The Moral Compass:

Ethics Without Doctrine

by Rev. Ken Langer

First Church of Barre, Universalist

Date

Sunday, July 12, 2026

Sermon

One summer day, Elephant roamed through the jungle to find some new friends. She came across Monkey, but Monkey said she could not be friends with Elephant because Elephant could not swing through the trees. She asked Rabbit as he came out of his burrow if he would be her friend, but Rabbit replied, “You are too big to fit inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend.” Then, Elephant met Frog and asked if she could be a friend, but Frog said she could not jump like him and that all his friends knew how to jump. Elephant asked Fox, Snake, and Raven, and they all responded in similar ways.

The next day, Elephant noticed that all the animals were running. When she asked a passing giraffe what was happening, he told her there was a tiger on the loose and that it was attacking the other animals. Elephant confronted Tiger and kindly asked him to stop, but Tiger just told her to mind her own business. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Elephant swatted Tiger with her mighty trunk and scared him away. After that, all the animals became friends with Elephant. Why would Elephant do that? After being rejected by nearly all the other animals in the forest, why would Elephant do something to save them all?

This sermon was originally a response to an article published in the local paper. In the article, the writer specifically mentioned Unitarian Universalism and claimed, among other things, that since the movement lacks a central creed, it is impossible for it to uphold any moral values. Of course, we all know many examples of those who claim to espouse moral values but clearly do not follow them.

The claim that there can be no moral standards beyond religion has been made throughout history but became even more pronounced after the Age of Enlightenment, when many questioned the traditions and dogmas of the dominant religion. This fallacy, that morality cannot exist beyond religion, I believe, mistakes the path for the destination.

Every major religion has a set of ethical principles based on its worldview, and nations often adapt and even expand those into regional laws and customs. When immersed in these traditions long enough, it is easy to think that dismantling the structure of those principles will also destroy the moral compass of its people. This ignores the fact that all human beings must survive together in social structures and, in order to do that, must find ways to live and work together supportively. For our species to survive, we had to agree upon some common principles of right behavior and actions. It is also likely that religion developed, in part, as a way to solidify and legitimize those basic principles. This certainly means that ethics developed long before religion.

The moral destination for humanity, then, is to learn how to live with each other so that our species can thrive, survive, and strive. The path to reach that goal can vary, but that does not mean that one path is better than another. Naturally, those walking one trail think theirs must be the best. Unfortunately, it seems to be part of our nature to feel justified not just to proclaim the righteousness of a particular path but, in doing so, to declare that the other routes are wrong, unethical, or even dangerous. If we can take a step back, we may see that the goal of right relations is a tall, grand, and lofty summit that can be ascended in different ways. No path, no pathfinder, no practice, no person, no persuasion, and no particular prophet can claim moral superiority, because, in the end, we are all one human family sailing this sacred ship together. (How’s that for alliteration?)

Ethics are based on the universal truth that we all live longer and happier lives when we offer respect, compassion, and support for one another. In our story, the animals learned that their safety in the forest depended on releasing petty differences and prejudices between each other so that they could work together. A community can only grow together when its members look beyond their own personal needs and interests.

Initially, humanity only needed to maintain ethical principles within its own regional cultures, but the world has grown since then. We can no longer bind ourselves to regional communities or ethnic states. We have evolved into a single world community, despite the growing pains and paralyzing fear that can accompany this reality. It is now necessary for us to learn to expand our circles of concern beyond our small associations toward the larger community of humankind. It is unethical for any community, nation, or religion to promote the well-being only of its members and not of the world community. To achieve this, we must recognize the basic needs of all people and all beings on this one planet we share.

We can recognize that every single person in this world needs to survive in peace; that we need to feel safe, healthy, and secure; that we need to encourage belonging and nurturance; that we need to be respected and valued; and that we need the freedom to grow and thrive. These needs are independent of culture, creed, and religion but can be enriched and uplifted by them.

The path to the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness may differ, but the destination is the same: to live and grow together in peace. An obstacle to this destination, however, arises when the followers of one path believe theirs is the only true way and feel justified in attacking and harming those on other paths. Those are the “others” who are blamed for immorality and depravity, but different is not immoral; neither is thinking differently, nor is seeking your own path. It is too easy to confuse the path with the destination.

But what happens when we decide to pursue our own path or blaze our own trail? Is there a way to find some common values? I believe we can. Take, for instance, the maxim known as the Golden Rule, which is part of almost every ethical and spiritual tradition in one form or another. It speaks to the need to treat each other as we wish to be treated ourselves. The fact that it appears so often is because it is based on a basic human need to survive through interdependence and cooperation.

When my daughter was young, I strove to find some basic ethical principles that she could remember and carry with her throughout her life. After examining several religions and philosophies, I came up with three: Kindness, Consideration, and Authenticity. Kindness means being gentle and compassionate; Consideration involves respect and maturity; and Authenticity is the ability to be true and sincere. In all of these things, it is necessary to consider others, but also yourself and the earth you live upon. My book, Three Guidelines for Ethical Living, delves into these concepts and their significance in more detail, but the basic idea is that there are some common needs and desires that all people share. Similarly, there are common ideals that we can use as moral guideposts in learning how to live and share this life together. Because, folks, we don’t have a choice. We will either rise together or drag each other down into a deep, dark valley of pain and suffering.

That brings us back to our original question. How, then, do Unitarian Universalists find their ethics? We do not have a core theology because we believe in respecting the many paths of exploration. This means that we cannot depend on a single spiritual tradition to provide an ethical outline. Instead, we must look for and act upon those things with which we all share in need, support, and encouragement toward personal and communal growth. We must do this if we are to continue to flourish and advance together.

Let us continue together on this path toward peace, and let us set an example of how people can live and grow together through the basic human ideals of fairness and compassion. This is what the world must also do if we are to survive together. It is not the divergent paths that are important. Instead, let us keep our focus on our singularly shared destination.

Notes

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