Read the full issue of this week’s newsletter here: The Weekly Liberal July 16

This week, Rev. Justin Schroeder writes:

In addition to everything else that’s happening right now, we are in the midst of an uprising against police and state brutality against Black, indigenous, and people or color – that calls us to do deep theological reflection, and to respond from that place. Our Unitarian Universalist theology offers a framework for making sense of the time we’re in, and points us toward actions that bring our values alive in the world.

Theology is defined as the study of religious belief, or the study of the nature of the Divine/God/Spirit of Life. If you’ve ever experienced yourself or another as broken, and thought about what helps you “heal” and feel “whole” again after you’ve been hurt or harmed, you’re doing theology. If you’ve thought about what evil is, and how it shows up in the world, you’re doing theology. If you’ve thought about what good is, and how that is present in the world, you’re doing theology. In fact, you’re really doing theological reflection, which is reflecting on your experiences in light of your faith, in light of the Principles of Unitarian Universalism , including the proposed 8th Principle , which calls us to “spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” 

Unitarian Universalism has a “big tent” under which people with many different beliefs can gather. We do not have to adhere to a statement of belief in order to be accepted in this faith. Instead, Unitarianism points to an underlying unity at the heart of creation. Unitarianism posits that we all come from the same source, call it the big bang, God, the Cosmos, or the Spirit of Life. Universalism suggests that we all share a common destiny. Universalism – the claim that everyone is created whole and holy and is worthy of love, and that we all ultimately return to love – demolishes notions of saved and unsaved, worthy and unworthy. Universalism claims no one is disposable; we are all connected and dependent on one another.

How then, does this framework inform our racial justice and anti-oppression efforts? There are many responses. One response is that any hierarchy that suggests one group of people (based on race, gender, ability, class, or anything else) is better than another group of people is in direct opposition to our faith. In fact, racism (and any of these other false hierarchies), distort the underlying truth of our oneness, and compromise our faith. Using this theological framework, we naturally begin to reimagine policing, because policing as it currently exists treats some people as having less worth, value and dignity than others, which is in direct opposition to our faith.

The value of theological reflection is that it can invite us to begin to find deeper alignment between our faith and our actions. In doing this, we move closer to living an undivided life, which can be a source of joy and delight.
How is your faith shaping your response to these times we are living in?

I’ll see you in virtual church!

With care,
Rev. Justin