The Universal Life Church Monastery says it has two, and only two, tenets. The first of which is, "To promote freedom of religion." I have some strong feelings about what that means, at least to me. Do you?
I am a Christian by faith. I grew up in a church and family that had a strict, fundamentalist interpretation and practice of the Christian religion. I participated in that fully, becoming an ordained minister in that denomination. I went to a university and a seminary and was trained in theology. I spent 25 years serving as a minister in that denomination. Along the way, I began to question the intolerance that the fundamentalist practice of Christianity entailed. I continued the questioning in my heart, and, for me, much of Christianity the way it had been handed down to me unraveled.
One of the basic beliefs in my original denomination was religious tolerance. This belief says, in theory, that everyone is created by God and therefore has a right to worship God in whatever way they choose, or not at all. This belief was the basis for the religious freedoms found in the Bill of Rights in the U. S. Constitution. This belief led to the "seperation of Church and State" that is part of our national code. However, in practice, in my original denomination, this belief was mostly overlooked. The practical application of the fundamentalist version of my former denomination led to many judgemental actions by a whole bunch of these kind of christians.
I still hold firmly to this core belief. For me it is real in theory and in practice. You have a right to believe in God, or not. To worship or practice your religion the way you see fit, or not at all. In my view, God is offended if you do not believe. It is my belief that God made you, and in that creation gave you the freedom to believe, to worship, to seek, or none of the above. It is not necessary for you to believe God made you. You might reject that concept entirely. You may see yourself as an accident. You may believe that you are here for no reason at all. Okay, fine with me. If you don't believe in any kind of deity at all or if you are worshiping the Great Purple Rutabaga, that is awesome. You be you.
I am not in this world to convert anybody to anything. I used to be quite the proselytizer. I beleived that was part of my "calling." I now reject that. I will be happy to discuss theology with anybody, anytime, anywhere. But I am not interested in convincing you of anything. I am interested in hearing what you believe, what you think about some of the "big ideas" of the world. Or hearing that you don't believe at all.
I am a believer in Jesus. However, I find value in many religions and sacred texts. I greatly enjoy reading Buddhist teachings. I love reading or listening to the Dalai Lama. I am intrigued by ancient pagan teachings, though I don't know much about them yet. I want to know more, to find the values, and to find the things I disagree with as well. I am a seeker and a learner. I bet you have something you could teach me, if you wanted to.
I came to the ULC website originally because I wanted to legally perform weddings and I no longer want to be associated with my former denomination. I can, legally, still perform weddings under my original ordination, but I feel that would be disingenuous on my part. So I came to this "place." What I have found here is much, much more than I could have imagined. I am enjoying the new virtual friendships and am being re-invigorated to find my place of ministry in this world.
I would enjoy being friends with you, no matter your beliefs or non-beliefs. If you feel the same way, send me a friend request. We can work "to promote freedom of religion" together.
Regards,
Samuel
