One of the most striking contrasts for me to observe between mainline-denominationally-affiliated theological liberals in “safer” environments like Harvard Divinity School (where I earned my MDiv) vs. in more activist environments like the UMC General Conference is the much greater degree of defensiveness in the latter over words used in describing theologically liberal Protestantism. At Harvard Divinity School (HDS), I noticed that it was perfectly socially acceptable for professors to give lectures or lectures or assign readings describing their fellow liberal mainline Protestants as “secularized” or “more secular,” or speaking of certain theologies as more “orthodox” than others in a similar way to how I would use that term. At United Methodist General Conferences, of course, equally liberal delegates would loudly protest such wording. But in such “safer” environments, theological liberals with a United Methodist or other mainline denominational affiliation, including ordination candidates, sometimes very openly share their great enthusiasm for the institution and beliefs of Unitarian Universalism. The Unitarian Universalist Association is basically an organized religion based on taking theological liberalism to its post-Christian, religiously relativistic, and lefty-politics-centralizing extremes. Sound familiar?
As a side note, I realize that some Unitarian Universalists, who call themselves UUs, may protest that there are NO set beliefs to which all UUs are required to adhere, as their central value is openness to all religions. But when you look closer, UUs will admit that there are quite a number of beliefs that are clearly out of bounds in their faith communities, such as orthodox Christian doctrine, right-of-center political opinions, or belief in any sort final Judgment that involves sorting people towards different eternal fates.
Read Full Article »