Comments | chalice_circle: NPR's "Losing Our Religion"

esprix in chalice_circle

NPR's "Losing Our Religion"

Jan 17, 2013 12:24

NPR has been doing pieces this week about the growing segment of the population that has no religious affiliation, and it's been an interesting listen. ("Losing Our Religion"The piece on Tuesday included interviews with a group of young adults who came from various religious backgrounds but all of whom now either consider themselves without a ( Read more... )

Comments 11

cairech January 17 2013, 22:17:22 UTC

I heard this report and had much the same thought. But even more I wished that the atheist whose husband was killed, and who suffered thru an onslaught of religious indoctrination attempts as a result, had been able to find a UU minister or Humanist group. Her story was on my local NPR station just a day or two before this one.

esprix January 18 2013, 21:47:24 UTC

I'll have to look that one up.

tcpip January 17 2013, 22:36:33 UTC

Well, that's a very strong target market then.

esprix January 18 2013, 21:46:38 UTC

I've often said we should be reaching out to younger people, and although I'm sure many congregations do, I'm sure it's an uphill climb (and not just for us - community groups, other faiths, etc. probably have this same problem).

tcpip January 20 2013, 22:27:41 UTC

Even if they don't join up straight away they'll at least know of our existence, which is the first step.

It took me close to ten years after learning about UU before setting foot in a church.

esprix January 22 2013, 18:18:38 UTC

I want to write to NPR and say, uh, you sort of ignored some liberal alternatives - not every religion is mainstream Christian. :)

fatpie42 January 18 2013, 10:33:05 UTC

It would be nice if you gave some reason why you think a UU church would help them. I can't really see any reason to believe that a UU church would appeal to any of them.

The Jewish girl Miriam most likely enjoys going to synagogue because it's a connection to her local Jewish community (since after all, being a Jew is more than just believing in God). A UU Church simply would not fulfil the same function for her. While I think a UU Church might possibly have been helpful when the last few were dealing with grief, it sounds like those are no longer terribly recent experiences for either of them now.

The only one I think might benefit from a UU Church is Kyle Simpson, who seems to want a replacement for his more fundamentalist form of Christianity.

esprix January 18 2013, 21:45:15 UTC

The whole tenor of all of their stories struck me that not only did they lose confidence in their particular faiths and/or churches, but they seemed to think that if they couldn't be a part of that particular one, then there weren't any options left for them. I've always seen UUism as the "unknown religious option" - just because Catholicism or Judaism or whatever faith you were raised in didn't work out for you, that doesn't mean that's the end of it. To me, finding a UU church is a good place to start a whole new search for faith or community or religion, because UUism encompasses an openness to not only explore other faiths besides the one(s) you already know, but to open yourself up to new spiritual possibilities you didn't even know were available to you. The diversity of UUism, to me, is our absolute strength, and from the many stories I've heard over the years (including my own) it's something many people have discovered and appreciated along their own personal spiritual paths ( ... )

fatpie42 January 18 2013, 22:00:44 UTC

I'm not so sure. I think people in any religious tradition will happily say to people leaving a particular faith "come to us, we're better". I don't see how your reaction is any different when it comes down to it ( ... )

esprix January 19 2013, 07:01:41 UTC

No, I understand what you're saying, but I have to ask, when's the last time you went to a UU service? Or, perhaps, went to different services at different congregations? My whole point is that there's enough diversity in UUism just going from congregation to congregation that there's a far better chance of connecting with a new community that suits you or finding a spiritual path that speaks to you than with any other denomination (or, at least, that's always been my experience). So a Jewish person is going to be able to find Jewish UUs (although, granted, as you say, there's a lot more to Judaism than just what church you attend, but we do have a thriving Jewish community within the UU community), Christians are going to be able to find Christian UUs, and those who aren't sure what they believe anymore will likely be able to find something that appeals to them. It may take visiting more than one congregation, but I wholeheartedly believe it's possible. (I look at the 5 congregations in the DC area and they really couldn't be ( ... )

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