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christianity
October 2009 
The Role of Religion in a Sustainable Future
Earon
Religion, throughout history, has been a cultural and political flashpoint; too often a good idea gone bad. Inner thoughts of love and peace too easily turn to hatred and violence. Some writers would have us entirely abandon religions, while others would continue fighting over which religion is "the one true way."
In my opinion, the problem is not that religion is evil, but that the nature of the human mind has simply misplaced it. In our culture, religion is not limited to where it can do the most good, as a bridge between our conscious and unconscious minds, as a constant reminder of our sacred interconnection with all of humanity and all of life.
Instead, as established corporations, some of them being huge, multinationals, religion is in a position to perpetuate itself by various competitive marketing techniques and even intimidation, creating confusion, division and mistrust. Instead of focusing on calm and compassion, religion often turns to moral outrage and judgment. This is contrary to the spiritual core of all religious faiths, and yet it happens, time and time again.
For religion to play a positive role in the future, it must refocus on internal faith and hope for the human race, rather than any single set of competing ideologies. Religion must be the teacher of respect rather than judgment, oneness rather than separation, dialogue rather than intransigence. Such has been the direction in which American christianity, judaism and Islam are moving, even within evangelicals. It is a direction very familiar to hindus and buddhists, for example. Hold the faith deeply within, knowing that we are charged with living lives of compassion, partnership and service - not judgment and domination.
Following are some of the emerging redefinitions:
Spirituality -- The experiential knowing of faith, hope and peace.
Religion -- A vehicle for nurturing spirituality and respect for all cultures and religions and for all of life.
Non-Religion -- Anything that creates or engages in conflict or competition between cultures or religions, including the seeking of converts and any reference to one religion being better than another - or to any religion being "the only way to heaven," etc.
Interspirituality -- The core beliefs common to all of the world's religions and wisdom traditions, including atheism and nature worship, often codified in the "Golden Rule".
Thus, I see the future of religion as being a force that binds the human race together, rather than ripping it apart. It is a place where respect and compassion are taught and where great efforts are made to emphasize interspirituality, and interfaith access so that no religion or tradition is "evil" or unwelcome. Religion is a realm in which the devil has no place whatsoever. Belief is in unity and joy. Temptation, which is universal, is resisted by internal discipline and faith, supported by community, rather than by condemnation as evil or fears of going to hell.
Religious texts and prayerbooks are being rewritten as we speak. The old narrow, judgmental hymns and prayers are giving way to new hymns and prayers that will serve our world better, that will bring us closer to our deep vision of the infinite. You will know these new writings for their love and respect for all of life. You will know them because they can be unhesitatingly shared with Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Native Americans and Atheists. In creating a prayer to which none will object, you will have manifested more of Jesus' teachings than our old religions were able to tolerate!
Feel good about that, even if it means letting go of the familiar, the branded religious thinking you used to feel brought you closer to God - but which actually distanced us from God. This is the role of religion in a sustainable future. We all let go of small "truths" in service of the larger truths of love and compassion.
As for morality, I see the future as enhancing our moral values and helping us to live more deeply ethical and moral lives. Threats of going to hell didn't work to keep people on the straight and narrow, because the path of life is not straight or narrow. There are choices and there are consequences for those choices. We don't put children on leashes because that impairs their ability for authentic experiences and deep learning. Religions are here to be our loving guides - not God's spies and enforcers. They are here to unite us with our brothers and sisters - not to divide us. They are here to bring out the best in us - not to use us to inflict the worst of ourselves on those with competing ideas.
The government is in charge of maintaining safety and order. Religion guides our internal, spiritual lives, helping us find faith and meaning in our lives. When religions enter into matters of government , war or politics, no matter how "holy" the motivations may be, they undermine our faith and the meaning in our lives. When a religion closes its doors or its hearts to anyone, it ceases to be our teacher.
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I agree.
I heard it said once that the great eruptions of fundamentalism seen around the world is a good sign: it shows that these religions are in their death throes, unwilling to accept an inclusive, loving future with all faith traditions and cultures. I tend to agree.
On the other hand, yesterday I was reading What Is Enlightenment? (the latest issue), and hugely dismayed at the comments the founder of the “Veridian Green” movement (I believe his name is Sterling) made about religion and mysticism in general. His atheistic view of the future is just as damning, just as fundamentalist, just as controlled and cut off as that of the most strident religionist. The whole issue always seems to come down to control. Sad.
Shawn
If unitarian-universalists handed out religious tracts, this blog could be one…
the philosophical problem I see with UUism (and others in similar agreement with them - see www.uua.org ) is that in telling people that all religions are right, they are simultaneously denying the tenet of religious exclusivism which is an inherent part of all organized religions, including UU itself. It's a circular argument. UUism says that all beliefs are valid, which negates the belief that there is one true religion, and in so doing, is making the claim that theirs is the only true religion, because if everyone else says theirs is the only one they must all be wrong! And round and round it goes.
Shawn, thanks for your insightful comments about power and domination. I agree that any organization believing it is “the one true way” has entirely missed the point of diversity and connection. In many parts of our society, atheists are intimidated and ridiculed. In my experience, the trauma of discrimination and prejudice breeds resentment and hatred; which feeds the cycle of conflict rather than defusing it. I insist that atheism and agnosticism be welcomed as part of our diverse spiritual beliefs, given the same requirements of respect and compassion for other belief systems.
FriendStacy, yours is an important insight. Personally, I don't agree that religious exclusivism is part of all organized religions. Hinduism and buddhism are both nonexclusive. Hinduism has hundreds of years of very clear universalism. On September 11, 1893, at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Swami Vivekenanda presented these views to America and was very well received. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivekenanda
Many native religions around the world persist as compromises or hybrids with Christianity. This is particularly common in Africa and Asia. Latin American Catholics often incorporate native legends and practices that have nothing to do with Catholic liturgy. Conservative Judaism has long recognized that God's plan includes other religions. And there are Christian denominations that do not prosletyze.
I would also note that America's “Founding Fathers” explicitly provided for the separation of Church and State because they were not religious exclusivists. Thomas Jefferson was Unitarian and/or Deist. John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine and George Washington were nominally Christian, but were also either Deists or were highly influenced by universalist points of view. All had at one point apparently questioned or rejected the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity and all divine revelations.
Here's the way I see the paradox of universalism vs. true paths. If all beliefs are valid, then there are many paths to the infinite. Each person may choose to follow one discrete path exclusively or to walk multiple paths of belief or nonbelief. Unitarian Universalists each walk their own paths. Some adhere more to one or more traditions in addition to unitarianism. Personally, I favor Interspirituality rather than Unitarian Universalism, although I have not deeply explored UU. As an aside, though, I might add that the only research I've seen on SAT scores indicated that Unitarians had higher average scores than people from any other religion. http://www.pluralism.org/news/article.php?id=2616
I do not believe that everyone must be interspiritual, but I respect the intentions of Unitarians and Bahai's. I would point out that Jesus did not discriminate against anyone and did not reject anyone. If we practice the core values of peace, respect, integrity and compassion, we will be furthering the work of Jesus. But this does not mean we are rejecting the work of Buddha or any other spiritual leader. If an exclusivist domination of “Christianity” insists that everyone else is going to hell, then they are still welcome in my interspirituality as long as they accept the golden rule and treat other people's beliefs with respect and compassion, just as they would have others treat themselves.
most people who go to UU church are neither Unitarian nor Universalist anymore. The reason people like myself who went to UU church as youngsters score higher on tests is because we were encouraged to think for ourselves, given lots of deep reading material (Emerson and Thoreau in particular, Hesse, even Neitzsche), and *not* indoctrinated to believe what our parents believe. But there's still several good reasons my children are not going to church… Mainly the same reasons Emerson and Thoreau turned their backs on Unitarianism way way back, shortly after they got it started here in the US. It became too much like any other organized religion.
I'm in total agreement with you (okay, not TOTAL, but close) and I don't want to pick. I have this tendency to pick things apart until they make sense to me. Please don't take it personally.
I am a subjectivist. I believe the only true religion is the one each individual finds within their own hearts. It doesn't have to agree with anyone else's truth. All that matters is that each person be allowed the chance to decide for themselves what to believe. When you organize anything, somewhere along the way individuals give up some of their power for the sake of the group. I believe we should all be following our hearts for the sake of ALL people. Because I recognize what hurts me, hurts everyone else as well, and what hurts anyone else, also hurts me. It's the Golden Rule, and it's all we really need.
Friendstacy, no offense taken. That's why I'm not a member of a congregation, and don't aspire to be, although I am comfortable attending services in any that is not too boring, arrogant or meanspirited. If we were in TOTAL agreement, that still would not mean we would want to start or join the same congregation. We are just the way we are. We find other ways to meet our social needs and to share our gifts with the world.
People who have not been tamed by society, or at least those less tamed than most, seek happiness in ways the majority may not understand. Solitude, walking in nature and meditation are practices just as prayer and worship. While the majority find comfort in belonging to a congregation of some sort, many of us feel empty going that route. We may try to convince ourselves that we should go for the sake of “fitting in.” But that doesn't work for long. So, for me, also, religion is subjective and should remain so. It is the kingdom within, for which I seek only to harvest and cultivate the tiny seeds of spirituality out of the vast hulls of religion.
Various rituals are interesting and stimulating the first few times I encounter them, so I enjoy exploring different spiritual and wisdom traditions. However, there is another side of me that treats organized religion like quicksand - so easy to get sucked in - so difficult to extricate from the social pressures and connections. So, I watch my step and keep my mind cleansed with deep breathwork, paradoxes and metaphor - the guru is within - god is within - life is a journey - self-mastery.
This is all subjective, so I don't know how someone other than you might resond to my words in this posting, or the words in your posting. If I have understood you correctly, at least we may understand each other. From my perspective, what you experienced as “universalism” is not what I express as “universalism.” There is no classroom for this. There is no book to read. There is no guru, priest, rabbi, master or imam. It is the feeling I get when I am at peace and I experience awe and gratitude for the interconnected wonders of our world, including the amazing creatures we call humans.