Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA
A diverse, welcoming community of open hearts and minds since 1948
Q: Why do we need religion?
Rev. Oliver Thomas addressed this question in the Religious Forum of USA Today on Monday, August 9, 2010. I suggest you read his article at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-08-09-column09_ST_N...
Thomas has found that people seek religion for many reasons including worship, chance to experience community, and opportunity to serve others. He then adds: "As important as community, worship, and service are, I am convinced that religion's greatest contribution to society is even greater. Religion makes us want to live." Thomas describes how Victor Frankl's revealing research in the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz led him (Frankl) to a startling conclusion. "It was not the youngest, strongest, or even smartest inmates who tended to survive. It was those who had found meaning in their lives."
Thomas explains that meaning isn't necessarily religious—although one could argue that anything that deals with a person's deepest concern is in a sense "spiritual." What Frankl was talking about could be found in deeds—in the handful of individuals who shared their meager rations with others and went about encouraging their fellow prisoners. But meaning could also be found in attitudes—particularly the ability to face suffering with dignity and grace. Frankl observed that there are two basic types of people: decent ones and indecent one. To this Rev. Thomas adds that religion makes it easier to be decent. "I want to be a better person, not because I am afraid of God. Because I'm grateful for another trip around the sun and, like a good house guest, I want to leave this place in better shape than I found it."
Rev. Thomas with Frankl's help has essentially described our UUCA religious identity and purpose as recently articulated by our Board of Trustees:
- We are a faith community of free-thinking individuals united in a commitment to justice, beloved community, and spiritual deepening.
- We aspire to live transformative lives of courage, integrity, compassion, generosity, and gratitude—all in the name of love.
- We invite all souls to find loving support in this community, to discover the sources of their own spiritual strength, to live more purposeful lives, and to work together to improve the world.
- As a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, UUCA affirms and promotes the seven principles of our faith.
My commitment to UUCA reflects my commitment to life—my commitment to be a decent person.
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Comment
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Comment by June Herold on August 13, 2010 at 10:15am -
Hi David. Thanks for sharing this. I agree completely that religion and spirituality are critical for inspiriting us to live, even in the face of evils. In fact, religion helps us to recognize and resist the thrall of sociopaths and other forms of untreated psychological disorders that threaten the lives of others on a grand scale. And the thrall of those individuals and also those power structures, that magnetic Weimaritization (as Rev. Mary once preached about), can be very hard to recognize and diffuse. UU principles, when lived, seems to me, are more than a check and balance, they help create and restore life that exists from a position of love -- crowding out the conditions that do not heal and do not soothe the pain of all those who suffer from uncontrollable self-hatred.
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