[Fuusm-l] Proposed Article II revisions

Thu Jan 25 09:47:28 CST 2024

That's a good question, Chris, and I appreciate your asking it.  There has
been a "Great Dechurching" in America which has hit all denominations,
people are simply losing interest in belonging to a religious congregation
or getting a religious education for their children, although they often
say they are "spiritual".  The UU churches should be attractive to people
who are skeptical of traditional dogmas, but who still want a community of
like minded people concerned with spiritual issues.  But we haven't been
very successful in attracting such people, especially young adults and
youth.  The crusade against "white supremacy culture" hasn't attracted
nonwhite membership as was hoped, and getting in touch with our use of
"microaggressions" gets tiresome when there are so many macroaggressions
going on in the world.  I've posted some book reviews in Confluence that go
into these topics in more depth and they are still available, e.g.,  Preachers
in Purgatory
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oI9ZSJHyLHIqWguL8_GwkxwV-CKPVEvmLJ6GbAfXR0U/edit?usp=sharing>
and  Mistakes and Miracles: Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-s75GLBFkzXcVVS1K2HGmjUDDpobwmfScKdItm5cH-8/edit?usp=sharing>.
These are the serious issues the UU movement as a whole needs to be
discussing rather than tedious debates over the wording of bylaws that are
seldom read.  Perhaps the most relevant of my book reviews is the following
which I'll paste in:

Book Review: The Great Dechurching

by Jim Davis and Michael Graham

reviewed by Ted Goertzel

Davis and Graham report that “more people have left the church in the last
twenty-five years than all the new people who became Christians from the
First Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening, and Billy Graham crusades
combined.” They ask “Who’s Leaving, Why are they Leaving, and What Can Be
Done About It?” They report results from a survey of those they call the
“dechurched." These aren’t apostates, they haven’t lost belief, they just
don't go to church. In this review I highlight some of the findings
relevant to liberal religions such as the UUs. For a detailed summary I
recommend 'The Great Dechurching' explores America's religious exodus
<https://religionnews.com/2023/09/07/the-great-dechurching-explores-americas-religious-exodus/>
on religionnews.com.

The dechurching is taking place across all major denominations including
mainstream and evangelical Christianity. Most of the research is on
Christians, but it affects other groups as well. The people who leave
church say they still believe, the authors report that “it was disorienting
to realize how orthodox the dechurched still are in their beliefs.” They
report that “it appears fewer people are asking, “Is Jesus true?” and more
are asking, “Is Jesus good?” and “Is Jesus beautiful?”

 It seems to me that people may still say they believe but they are taking
religious doctrines with a grain of salt. If it works for them, that’s what
counts. Many find that “physically going to a church in our consumerist
digital age has become inconvenient … they have other priorities for their
time and money.”

 This means the masses of the dechurched aren’t looking for a church with
an alternative theology, they just don’t find church services the best use
of their free time. Many people are turned off because of interpersonal and
doctrinal conflicts in the church, a lack of supportive community, and
ideological haranguing. UU churches are not immune from these problems.

The authors urge pastors to focus more on spiritual matters and building a
loving community and less on political advocacy. They try to find answers
in Biblical texts that don't, in my opinion, really address the problem.

While the main group this book focuses on isn’t rushing toward the liberal
churches, there are some smaller trends that may be helpful. There are some
young people who are serious about religion but are “deconstructing”
Christianity and questioning the conservatism of the denominations they
have been raised in, especially the treatment of women, minorities and the
LGBTQ in some denominations. These are a small proportion of the
dechurching, but they may be the most likely recruits to UU churches. For
an essay that discusses this, based on a survey of NewYork Times readers, I
recommend The Largest and Fastest Religious Shift in America Is Well
Underway
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rWDzpx1m4ljIYQJSQ6J4g9HussROPcVX1GYSth7o3y8/edit?usp=sharing>,
by Jesica Grose.

On Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 10:13 AM Chris Hoke <hokeca72 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Td:
>
> What do you see as the real problems within the UU community?
>
> Thanks for your input.
>
>
>
> Chris Hoke
>
>
>
> *From:* Fuusm-l <fuusm-l-bounces at fuusm.org> *On Behalf Of *Maggie & Steve
> Meyer via Fuusm-l
> *Sent:* Wednesday, January 24, 2024 9:44 PM
> *To:* Ted Goertzel <tedgoertzel at gmail.com>
> *Cc:* UU Members & Friends <fuusm-l at fuusm.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [Fuusm-l] Proposed Article II revisions
>
>
>
> I agree with Ted.
>
> Maggie Meyer
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 24, 2024 at 6:48 PM Ted Goertzel via Fuusm-l <
> fuusm-l at fuusm.org> wrote:
>
> I personally don't feel at all enthusiastic about these changes.  Both the
> new and the old language are sterile, but the old less so.  Putting energy
> into this is mostly a way of avoiding dealing with the real problem in the
> UU movement and in most religions today, declining participation,
> especially among youth.  I'm not sure how to deal with the real problems,
> but wasting time on these bylaw revisions isn't likely to help.  Will more
> people join because they like the new statement better?  I think it's just
> as well we ignore it.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 24, 2024 at 5:31 PM Rebecca Phillips via Fuusm-l <
> fuusm-l at fuusm.org> wrote:
>
> Hello, all
>
>
>
> As you may know, a study commission has proposed revisions to Article II
> of the UUA bylaws, the section that includes principles and purposes. The
> revised language can be found at the following link; it is also attached.
>
>
>
> https://www.uua.org/files/2023-10/a2_final_line_num_10312023.pdf
>
>
>
>  In addition, there have been a number of amendments proposed to the
> revision. They are available at this link:
>
>
> https://discuss.uua.org/t/article-ii-amendments-needing-congregational-support-to-move-forward/1447
>
>
> <https://discuss.uua.org/t/article-ii-amendments-needing-congregational-support-to-move-forward/1447>
>
> Article II Amendments Needing Congregational Support to Move Forward
> <https://discuss.uua.org/t/article-ii-amendments-needing-congregational-support-to-move-forward/1447>
>
> In this section, you’ll find submitted amendments which still need support
> to move forward in the process. Please contact the person who submitted the
> amendment via the email address provided.
>
> discuss.uua.org
>
>
>
>
>
> FUUSM is late to this process, unless I have missed something. If our
> congregation wishes to support any of the amendments for presentation at
> General Assembly 2024 (and if I understand the process), our board would
> need to contact the amendment's proposer before February 1 to join as a
> congregational supporter.
>
>
>
> Rebecca
>
>
>
> "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."--
> Cicero
>
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>
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