Claiming the Term “Liberal” in Academic Religious Discourse

The three papers which follow were originally presented at the triennial Unitarian Universalist Convocation in 2016, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society and Collegium, an Association for Liberal Religious Studies [...]

Gordon Kaufman and a Theology for the Seeker

This article begins to develop a theology for the multi-worldview seeker, based on the constructive theological work of Gordon Kaufman. Seeking, as discussed in this article, is an attitude of life, characterized by interest in more than one theological, philosophical, or spiritual worldview, without any short or mid-term intention to commit oneself to one of them. In the United States, the Unitarian Universalist Association is a denomination that houses many theological seekers. The principles and sources of faith of that denomination offer an interesting foundation for the attitude of seeking. Constructing a theology for the seeker based on these principles should include a coherent account of concepts such as truth, God, spiritual growth, and ethics as they might follow from those principles. This article identifies possible incoherencies in the use of these concepts by seekers and proposes ways to escape them.

Believing in Women? Examining Early Views of Women among America’s Most Progressive Religious Groups

This paper examines views of women among the most prominent “progressive” American religious groups (as defined by those that liberalized early on the issue of birth control, circa 1929). We focus on the years between the first and second waves of the feminist movement (1929–1965) in order to examine these views during a time of relative quiescence. We find that some groups indeed have a history of outspoken support for women’s equality. Using their modern-day names, these groups—the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and to a lesser extent, the Society of Friends, or Quakers—professed strong support for women’s issues, early and often. However, we also find that prominent progressive groups—the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the United Presbyterian Church—were virtually silent on the issue of women’s rights. Thus, we conclude that birth control activism within the American religious field was not clearly correlated with an overall feminist orientation.

Believing in Women? Examining Early Views of Women among America's Most Progressive Religious Groups

This paper examines the most prominent “progressive” American religious groups’ (as defined by those that liberalized early on the issue of birth control, circa 1930) views of women between the first and second waves of the feminist movement (1930-1965).  We find that some groups have indeed had a long and outspoken support for women’s equality.  Using their modern-day names, these groups, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and to a lesser extent, the Society of Friends, or Quakers, professed strong support for women’s issues, early, and often.  However, we also find that prominent progressive groups –the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Presbyterian Church, were virtually silent on the issue of women’s rights – even as the second wave of the feminist movement was picking up steam – as late as 1965.

Appraisal, Preaching and the Religious Other: The Rhetorical Appropriation of Interreligious Positions in Sermonic Discourse

This paper explores preachers’ deployment of Appraisal (affect, judgement, appreciation, and dialogic engagement) in preaching on interreligious themes. Adopting a comparative discourse analysis, the paper investigates two American sermons representing diametrically opposed theological responses to other religions, a pluralist sermon in the Unitarian Universalist tradition and an exclusivist sermon in the biblical-evangelical tradition. An analysis of the two preachers’ Appraisal choices reveals two distinct Appraisal profiles. A discussion is then offered demonstrating how Appraisal is conducive to the appropriation and conservation of a specific interreligious persona during preaching.

Living the Interfaith Family Life

In 4 case studies, Chapter 6 articulates a range of ways that interfaith families practice both religions: the largely secular home that connects to both Christian and Jewish heritage; a family that sees themselves as having Christian and Jewish heritage in the context of a shared Unitarian Universalist community and faith; a family that belongs to an intentional interfaith community, the Interfaith Family Project; and a family that belongs to both Jewish and Mormon religious communities and is educating their children in both. These case studies represent the 4 main approaches that interfaith families “doing both” have found to navigate those tensions. Each of these families has found a different approach for combining their traditions and a unique language for framing their choices, but they all do so in ways that minimize the cognitive differences between the two traditions, highlights their similarities, and creates a cohesive narrative of family identity.