2113/4012 Unitarian Universalism: A Place for Atheists

Presenters: Marilyn Westfall, Mel Lipman, and James Haught

Prepared for UUA.org by: Mike McNaughton, Reporter; Margy Levine Young, Editor

"Tell me about the god you don't believe in. I probably don't believe in that god either." To the newly-founded UU Infidels this question smacks of patronizing dishonesty. It feels like a stifling verbal ploy. Their forceful answer is "All of them!"

Furthermore, it is demeaning and patronizing to insist that someone resists believing in a god because of some childhood experience. The implication is that you really have a God, but you just don't know it. Too often, the language used from the pulpit feels judgmental, even scolding, and is certainly divisive when used to belittle atheists and suggest they have no imagination.

Mel Lipman recalled the early years of his marriage. His background was Jewish, his wife's was Catholic, and their key issue was what religion not to raise the kids in. At that time, atheists were the majority in UU congregations; they were the hosts generously welcoming people of faith. "Maybe we did that too well," Mel Lipman mused. "Now, we are not being welcomed, we are being marginalized and disenfranchised." However, Lipman is still not ready to leave. "I want to be a challenge from inside UUism," he assured us.

James Haught seeks an unambiguous statement from Boston that "The UUA takes no position on the existence or non-existence of God," but he finds the UUA leadership unresponsive. "This suggestion seems to horrify the Boston leadership," he told us. "As long as they won't allow any such statement," he continued, "it makes us sound like any church."

The three panelists agreed on the need to speak out more, though in a diplomatic way. "It feels like we are being told 'Don't ask, don't tell,'" James Haught commented.

Many responses from the audience echoed the panelists' feelings and re-iterated the need to convey a positive message. A seminarian urged the Ministerial Fellowship Committee to include more atheist perspectives in their questions . A UU Christian from the audience drew warm applause when she told us, "I also feel marginalized. I want to be enriched by people who feel radically differently. I want to feel your pain."

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100