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Has anyone tried out a Unitarian Church? I’ve always been curious about my local one, but I’m apprehensive that being honest about my atheism may alienate me. Are they open to committed non-believers?

TeddyGoodwin 4 Nov 12
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56 comments (26 - 50)

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2

I have been a UU for 20 years. I am sorry I did not find the church earlier in life. You would be most welcome in a UU church. There is even an online service through Church of the Larger Fellowship. I attend this on Sunday afternoons. Give it a try!

2

I went once. They had a good message. I think it's kind of basically for people who grew up going to church, and miss the ritual of it, and the community. Everyone I met was very liberal and progressive, even for Austin.

Gener Level 5 Nov 14, 2019
2

Unitarians have more trouble with Catholics than Atheists. They tend to be progressive activists.

AJ413 Level 3 Nov 14, 2019
2

As near as I've been able to tell from Unitarian people I've known, they are not actually, really, very religious. In the god-fearing sense of the word. Don't think many of them believed in a god.

2

Had never heard of such a place. Sounded intriguing , so I did a quick google search. Was rewarded with one (UU) quite close to me. Opening statement on their website? "We are a fellowship of believers, made in God's image and called as disciples of Christ to share the Good News with everyone through learning, listening, praying and working together actively to reach out to our communities." Yeah, WTF, count me out. It's a christian church, with all the dogma and woo. Looks like just another religious tax dodge to me.

From my experience with UUs, that is not correct. The UUs I’ve gone to had Believers and non-believers including atheists, agnostics, Pagans (we made/had the mead), humanists, Buddhists, Christians, jews, Muslims, and flying spaghetti monsters. Almost everyone followed or were interested in multiple paths.
Did you accidentally google UCC?

Sounds totally unlike any UU I've ever been to ! Are you certain it wasn't a Unity church ? No gods are worshipped in UU fellowships, nor is there any praying ?

@CS60 No, because I didn't just google the acronym, I googled "Unitarian Universalist Reynoldsburg Ohio". See then the verbiage shown with "UU Congregation East - Reynoldsburg OH".

@LisaFultonave Found this on the UU website, it might explain why the one near you was so vastly different from the one's the rest has attended.

"Each UU congregation is autonomous—congregational leaders set their own priorities and choose their own ministers and staff. Congregations vote for the leaders of the UUA, who oversee the central staff and resources. The UUA supports congregations in their work by training ministers, publishing books and the UU World magazine, providing religious education curricula, offering shared services, coordinating social justice activities, and more."

The UU church I recently joined is not like that. Several different members there have commented to me that there are many atheists in the congregation. My church places great stress on independent thinking and in being non-creedal. From what CommonHuman said, it sounds like this church you're talking about is very atypical.

2

My experience, having attended a Unitarian Church several times, was very positive. They were all respectful and nonjudgmental of any faith or no belief. They are big on loving your neighbor, community service, and just being a good person in general. Their service was geared toward that end. Music, sermans, etc. were pretty much secular and generally appealed to anyone. I loved their approach to getting along in society, their live and let live attitude.

2

I've gone to my local Unitarian congregation twice now and am considering making it a habit. I could care less about the ceremonial stuff but they have a nice discussion hour afterward that is really interesting. My first time, someone asked everyone who was atheist to raise their hands and all but one or two were raised. The one guy who didn't was agnostic.

2

Didn't try but know some, kind thoughtful people, progressive non judgemental

bobwjr Level 10 Nov 13, 2019

Thank you, we are that.

2

Welcome to the asylum. Enjoy your stay.

I have no use for anything called a "church".
I don't like people all that much, so I get all the community I need right here.

2

Just attended a Memorial Service at one and was quite impressed by how they honored the deceased without dragging in any deities, "heavenly rewards" or other claptrap.

2

I'm probably not curious enough. A church is still a church. I one had a person ask me what an atheist worships. Why would we have to worship anything?

I’m A Unitarian Universalist, and most are calle congregations, not churches, out of respect for members who may be atheists, Jews, Hindus, etc.

@UUNJ calle?

1

I’ve also been wondering as to whether or not there would be any benefit to attending as an Atheist

1

Unprogrammed quakers are also usually tolerant. and there's no preaching in silent meeting.

1

Why in the heck join a church of any kind if you're an atheist? You'd have to convince me there is some benefit to it that can't be purchased in some other more agreeable fashion.

1

Unitarians are open to others

1

If I felt inclined to attend any church at all it would be a UU. But one of the perks of being an atheist is having Sundays free of any obligation. For non-believers who crave some community, though, a UU church would probably fill that need.

Deb57 Level 8 Nov 14, 2019
1

As I understand it there are some that are churches and have Jeebus and Easter, etc., and others that call their buildings meeting houses, and practice a generic religion with christian holidays. I've known atheists who have been happy in those. But I have better things to do with my Sundays - like sleep in, for instance.

1

A great while ago someone who belonged to the Unitarian church told us that they accept everyone. But then why call it a church? Selection starts right there I think.

Most often times it is not refer to as a church. It is referred to as a fellowship.

1

Always loved the line....

"The General answers his own phone. Must be a Unitarian." - Col. Sherman Potter, M.A.S.H 4077

My mom used to go all the time. I've been a few times. Very easy to get through. But... I still have better things to do with my time.

1

I belong to a UU Society. Most people are atheist or agnostic. I feel comfortable there.

SKH78 Level 8 Nov 13, 2019
1

I briefly attended a UU church in the next town north from me in an attempt to connect with some relatively like-minded folks. I met all sorts there, Buddhists, Christians, atheists, conservatives, liberals, a transgender woman, etc. Nobody disrespected my atheism, but nobody really "clicked" with me, either, so I stopped going. I ended up wondering why an atheist would be attending a church anyway, even if they insist on calling it a "fellowship."

I had the same experience as you. Their Sunday services had interesting sermons but they were just too churchy for me.

1

I tried out a UU church a couple of times. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Each time I went, they gave a presentation and discussion on important moments in human history. One I specifically remember was women breaking into the medical field. Only thing I didn't like was a group sing along at the end, felt too churchy to me.

I'd have continued going except that I'd only discovered the idea of UU very recently and was in the process of moving to another county without one nearby. But if one opens again near me, I'd love to give it another go. I really enjoyed the sense of acceptance and the human history aspect (without all the "god did it in a fairytale manner" nonsense).

1

I attended a Unitarian Church...they were open to everything from Atheism to Wiccan. I enjoyed most of their speakers and heard some great music. I have found more satisfaction from attending more humanistic and atheist functions however. Smaller groups work better for me. Hope you find something you can relate to.

1

I’ve not been to one, but I’ve been to a local humanist meetup. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’d like to find more local relationships, but the structure of a congregational assembly never did much for me, and it’s weird to consider identifying with anything church-like after fundamentalism.

Thank you! I feel the same way. I'm retired now, so I wouldn't mind something that got me some more local connections, but I'm extremely leery of anything that calls itself a congregation or even a church, outright. I was never raised in a church-attendance environment, so I don't miss any kind of weekly fellowship routine. I just know that the chances of meeting people from my doorstep are probably fairly slim! 😄 I think come summer, I may look into finding a part time job, maybe something 2-3 times per week.

1

Never felt the need...but if you do, then go ahead.

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