Deeds Not Creeds—2

Last week I told how I became friends with a Unitarian Universalist minister who has shared some UU ideas with me that I find impressive. For example, she says that Unitarian Universalism is a religion of “deeds not creeds,” as I explained in last week’s blog. I said in that blog that the deeds, while not based on a creed, do have a philosophical basis, which I promised to share with you.

Unitarian Universalism subscribes to seven aspirational principles. Swearing to perfectly honor these principles isn’t part of one’s initiation into UU fellowship. Nor is failure to perfectly live out these principles a cause for expulsion from fellowship. But the principles are a clear statement about values that Unitarian Universalism holds dear. They are:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;

• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;

• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Now let’s do a little comparing with Christianity.

When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment, he listed two, not just one. First, we are told to” “‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” Second, we are told to to “‘love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).

Unitarian Universalists do a great job of standing up for their fellow humans—Jesus’ second great commandment. The seven UU principles are all about appropriate human interaction. And UU’s take those human relations seriously. They’re not doing so specifically because of Jesus—though some may see his teachings as an added nudge in that direction. But whatever their motivation, fairness to all and inclusion of all are high priorities that most Christians would readily commend. 

By contrast, the Unitarian Universalist view of divinity is rather amorphous and malleable. Some UUs believe in some form of deity, but others don’t. Of those who do believe in deity, an even smaller number would believe in the divinity of Jesus—though most would probably see Jesus as a great teacher and moral philosopher. So it’s Jesus first great commandment where Christians and UUs would find our paths diverging dramatically.

Before we go all-out in condemning UUs for their great emphasis on serving their fellow humans and so little emphasis on serving God, let’s reflect for a moment on 1 John 4:20: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”

Few humans lay claim to having literally seen God, but all of us have seen the great and varied needs that exist among our fellow humans. Thus, it makes sense that deeds that help others should be a high priority. And that’s why UUs focus so much on deeds.

From my perspective, the UU’s open-ended concept of God leaves a great void. Something huge is missing. But my guess is that the average beneficiaries of Unitarian Universalist efforts to provide tangible and practical assistance to humanity’s many and varied needs aren’t nearly as worried about the omission of God theology as I am. They appreciate the “godliness” that’s demonstrated by the UUs’ humanity-uplifting deeds. They definitely can understand that kind of behavior.

Now let’s go back to those seven UU principles for a moment.

1. Subscribing to the “inherent worth and dignity of every person” is major moral step forward. Gender, race, religion, socioeconomic status—none of these labels make a person of greater or lesser value according to UUs.

2. Therefore, “justice, equity and compassion in human relations” are the means of honoring the universal human dignity that UUs promote.

3. “Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations” says that UUs accept people as they are, however faulty and broken that might be. But UU congregations exist to, among other things, encourage and nurture everyone to a higher level of fulfillment and actualization.

4. We’ve already noted that UUs are open concerning the nature of God or whether God even exists. And there are many other topics that are left open to individual interpretation. This provides the need and opportunity for both an individual and collective “free and responsible search for truth and meaning.”

5. UUs defend the “right of conscience.” It’s not a religious communion where people are forced into lockstep conformity. But, ultimately, decisions that have collective impact need to be made about some things—things as mundane as what color the church carpet should be. And, imperfect though the democratic process may be, UUs believe the best outcomes are achieved through “the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”

6. UUs are an outward-looking group. They want everyone to have the benefits that they want for themselves. Thus they pursue “the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.”

7. In this essay, I have noted the UU concept that humans live in community and therefore must work for the good of the entire community—no exceptions. But they go even further. They recognize that humanity, important though it is, is not the be all and end all. Thus they articulate their “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”

I stated in “Deeds Not Creeds—1” that deeds and creeds aren’t mutually exclusive. It need not be an either/or situation. And I’ve stated here that I feel UUs miss out something vital because their concept of God is so amorphous. But when it comes to relating to fellow humans, many Christians could learn a lot from UUs about what it means to be a truly dependable friend to those around us—to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, to use the words of Jesus.