Jesus was a humanist.

Many of you in our congregations consider yourselves humanists.

You appreciate the humanist bent in some of the songs included in our 30 year-old hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition. You are proud of the Unitarian ministers who signed on to the Humanist Manifesto in 1933. You love that we draw wisdom from the prophetic words and deeds of people and not just from holy texts.

Yes, there are many humanists in our congregations. I am one of them.

I am a humanist.

I am a theist.

Yes. It is entirely possible to be a humanist and believe in God. Because humanism does not exclude belief in a higher power. In the early 20th century, John Dietrich, considered the father of religious humanism, spoke of a ‘cosmic theism’, which interprets God as the indwelling power in the universe rather than an individual, separate power. Dietrich suggests that there is no conflict between humanism and theism, because a concern for the human condition is not in opposition to believing in God (however you define that word). He suggested simply that we look not to supernatural events to save us but to put our energies into doing that which saves others.1

So I don’t know what it means when theists have to hide in the corner after coffee hour to talk about God, or congregants can accuse preachers of using “that word”, or worship committees brace themselves when services that talk about theism (and *gasp* Christianity) are on the calendar, or worship leaders try to find any way to talk about Easter without mentioning Jesus.

All of which I have been a direct party to.

THIS IS NOT WHAT WE DO.

We are a pluralist faith – a faith built on Christian ideas of universal salvation and the power of reason to understand God is one. A faith that understands that those theologies ultimately grow beyond Christianity to include the wisdom and celebration of religious traditions around the world, many of which are also have some form of indwelling power. A faith that even includes those who do not believe there is an indwelling power but who appreciate the wisdom and community of humanity.

We are a pluralist faith, a humanist faith – not an atheist faith.

I know I’m not saying anything your ministers haven’t said a hundred times from the pulpit/in emails/in newsletter columns. The reason I’m saying this now is because those of you who demand the rest of us not celebrate our holy days, not say the G word (or other words of reverence), or even talk about theism are acting COUNTER TO OUR FAITH.

We are not an atheist faith.

We are a humanist faith.

Meaning, we know our concern is not what happens after we die – our concern is here, on earth, now, amongst each other. And through the many sources of wisdom – including sacred texts – we find that wisdom and confidence to do all we are called to do as humans whose central value is Love and whose central ethic is putting those values into action.

And yes, I know some of you are come-in-ers, having been harmed by bad theology in other religious settings. Some of you knew words like “God” and “prayer” and “saved” and even “holy” as weapons for spiritual harm. I do not deny that for some of you, those words are still a struggle. But that is your work to do, to be able to hear them without being triggered. We have resources to help, of course, and one of them is worship.

When we talk about the Easter story from a Unitarian Universalist pulpit for example, we are longing to reframe the story and the texts in ways that connect both with their original intent and with our modern, humanist take on the events of that week 2000+ years ago. You won’t hear an altar call after, you won’t hear a demand that you believe, you won’t hear anyone suggesting if you don’t believe you’re going to hell. You might hear about Jesus’s powerful ministry and call to feed the hungry, care for the infirm, shelter the stranger, love your neighbor.

Many of you who are atheists in our congregations already know this. You’ve experienced it year after year after year.

So why is it still such a big deal?

Your ministers are spending so much time on this non-issue – from listening to the constant complaints to pastoral calls with those who wonder if their faith, which is at the very least agnostic, is even welcome. And every time you say you don’t hear enough humanist content, what you mean is you don’t hear enough atheist content - because really, everything you hear from a Unitarian Universalist pulpit is humanist, because we are a humanistic faith.

And we are a pluralist faith.

That means you’re not always going to hear things that are written just for you. But I can guaran-damn-tee you that it’s holding, comforting, and engaging someone else. THAT is what we are about.

I’m begging you: STOP FORCING ATHEISM ONTO UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM.

Your minister will thank you. Your music director and religious educator will thank you. Your fellow congregants will thank you. And your faith will be richer.