2027 Liberal Theology's Tensions: Getting in Our Own Way

Presenter: Rev. Dr. Paul Rasor

Prepared for UUA.org by: Dan Harper, Reporter; Jone Johnson Lewis, Editor

In a workshop sponsored by the staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Rev. Dr. Paul Rasor spoke on the challenges facing liberal religious movements today. Rasor is the Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, which aims to foster religious freedom through education, at Virginia Wesleyan College. Skinner House Books has just published Rasor's new book, Faith without Certainty: Liberal Theology in the 21st Century.

Speaking to nearly 200 people in a packed room, Rasor began by saying he has long been fascinated with the "tensions and ambiguities" in religious liberalism. As he found his way into Unitarian Universalism, he noticed Unitarian Universalists "feeling deeply committed and yet holding back at the same time." Rasor believes this tension results from "a deeper set of tensions that permeate liberal theology at all levels."

Tensions like this "can cause us to act contrary to our own best interests," said Rasor. "The thing is to learn to live with them, learn to recognize them." The tensions are not going to go away, said Rasor, joking that "Resistance is futile."

Rasor distinguished between what he calls surface tensions, and deeper theological tensions. Surface tensions are easier to see, and Rasor began by identifying some of those.

At the surface level, Rasor identified competing liberal religious values that are in tension with each other. For example, religious liberals have a strong commitment to individualism, but they also have a longing for community. How we shape out theologies provides another example. Religious liberals are committed to free religious inquiry, but we also strive for more shared content. "We don't want creeds," said Rasor, "but we want our search to lead somewhere."

Rasor said he is particularly interested in these surface tensions as they relate to social justice work. "We have a vision of a more just society," said Rasor, but that vision is in tension with the demands of our lives – family, school, work, etc. Rasor also pointed out the most Unitarian Universalists lead a fairly comfortable middle class lifestyle. "We're aware of our privileges," he said, "and we don't want to give them up." Yet social justice work may demand that religious liberals give up some of their privilege.

Rasor noted that such tensions are "part of what it means to be [religious] liberals." He added that Unitarian Universalism shares these tensions with other religious liberals, such as Quakers, many mainline Protestants, etc.

Beneath the surface tensions are deeper theological tensions, according to Rasor. The deeper tensions "lie at the very heart of religious liberalism," he said. The deeper tensions concern religious identity, commitment to social justice, and the complex relationship that religious liberalism has with the larger society.

"Liberal theology tries to remain intellectually credible and culturally relevant," said Rasor. However, this can create problems. Critics of liberal theology say that religious liberals blur the distinction between religion and culture, and accommodate to society. As a result, said Rasor, "Religious liberals are constantly in danger of losing their religious identity." A strong commitment to free inquiry, and to the idea that truth is not fixed, "can make us reluctant to say who we are," resulting in a possible lack of commitment to liberal religion.

Another deeper tension in liberal religion concerns social justice work. Rasor claims that liberal theology can create a double bind. Religious liberals are deeply involved with the surrounding culture, while at the same time religious liberals try to engage in a "prophetic critique" of the status quo.

Rasor compared liberal theology to liberation theology. Liberal theology emphasizes the use of reason, in large part to adapt to a wider culture where reason is important. Liberal theology engages the unbeliever, the person who does not find religion relevant in an age of reason and science. Liberation theology, on the other hand, "is not about differences of belief, but about differences of life itself." Liberation theology does not engage with the unbeliever, "but with the hungry person," said Rasor. "Reason is never an end in itself, it is always in the service of liberation of the poor and hungry."

As a result, Rasor believes that religious liberals support social reform as long as it's not too radical. "The accommodating side has always been the stronger of the two," he said, "and that has tended to blunt the prophetic edge of liberal religion."

Rasor ended his talk with a few personal remarks. "I've been doing this research out of love," he said. "One of the healthiest traditions within liberal theology is our tradition of self-reflection and critique." He sees himself as standing within that tradition.

Self-reflection and critique have become especially important recently, according to Rasor, "in a world where even asking hard questions is seen as a threat." He concluded by saying, "Liberal theology is not for the faint of heart," adding, "It's an invitation, not a mandate."

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