Paul Wilczynski's Observations

Davidson Loehr: On Pathways and more

Sr. Minister Davidson Loehr, of the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Austin, TX, writes a letter to the Unitarian Universalist Association on a few topics, starting with what has been called the Pathways fiasco.

But Loehr also comments on a different subject: mistakes he feels were made when the Unitarians and Universalists merged in 1961. Here's one that strikes me as very relevent:

But we can at least see and say what the biggest single mistake after the merger was. It was exalting the seekers rather than what was being sought. This is given away in the slogan "the religion that puts its faith in you." Real religions put their faith in a wisdom tradition that is learned by their members. Not the same as a creed, but more powerful: a worldview, a constellation of profound assumptions. I can’t imagine that anyone would suggest the Seven Banalities actually count here. They were the result of an extended poll, rather than hard questions about what should be worth believing. As such, they showed the only thing they could show: a profile of the secular beliefs and cultural biases of the kind of people who come to our churches (and like discussion groups). Exalting that is so close to a definition of narcissism and solipsism that there may not be a distinction that makes a difference. This has reduced this tiny movement to a kind of ambulance-chasing, as we – and Bill Sinkford, as our public personification – have chased after every PC bandwagon, in order to jump on them and pretend we’re relevant. This isn’t religion. It’s the insecurity and irrelevance of those without a religious center, who now hope that the discredited ideology of the political left can pull them through.

Strong words. Very strong words. He's probably not the only one who believes them.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 3:44 PM