This sermon was preached by Rev. Dan Harper. As usual, the sermon below is a reading text. The actual sermon as preached contained ad libs, interjections, and other improvisation. Sermon copyright (c) 2006 Daniel Harper.
Readings
The first reading this morning comes from the book New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects, and Alternative Spiritualities, by Christopher Partridge:
“While Christianity has gone into decline in the West, other religions — including smaller movements such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints — and many alternative spiritualities, such as Paganism, are experiencing growth, often substantial growth. Indeed, Paganism is regularly reported as being Britain’s fastest-growing religious tradition. J. Gordon Melton, a leading scholar and chronicler of new religious movements, has noted [quote] ‘during the 20th century, the West experienced a phenomenon it has not encountered since the reign of Constantine: the growth of and significant visible presence of non-Christian and non-Orthodox Christian bodies competing for the religious allegiance of the public. This growth of so many alternatives religiously is forcing a new situation on the West in which the still-dominant Christian religion must share its centuries-old hegemony in a new pluralistic religious environment.’ [close quote] With very few exceptions, if you were to carry out a survey of the beliefs of people living within a five-mile radius of where you are now, you would come across a multitude of religious beliefs and practices, many of which will be new and eclectic. As well as the alternative religious groups, which can trace their origins directly back to one of the major world religions, there has been a proliferation of groups and movements that draw inspiration from a variety of sources.”
The second reading this morning comes from an article in Rolling Stone magazine by journalist Janet Reitman, titled “Inside Scientology”:
“…Scientology charges for virtually all of its religious services. Auditing is purchased in 12.5 hour blocks, known as “intensives.” Each intensive can cost anywhere from $750 for an introductory session to between $8,000 and $9,000 for advanced sessions. When asked about money, church officials can become defensive. “Do you want to know the real answer? If we could offer everything for free, we would do it,” says [Mark] Rinder [,director of Church of Scientology International’s Office of Special Affairs.] Another official offers, “We don’t have 2,000 years of acquired wealth to fall back on.” But Scientology isn’t alone, church leaders insist. Mormons, for example, expect members to tithe a tenth of their earnings.
“…Clearing the stages [of Scientology] along the Bridge to Total Freedom is a process that can take years and cost tens and often hundreds of thousands of dollars — one veteran Scientologist told me she “donated” $250,000 in a twenty-year period. Other Scientologists can wind up spending family inheritances and mortgaging homes to pay the fees….”
SERMON — “New Religious Movements”
I have become fascinated with new religious movements. As someone who a part of a distinctly non-orthodox, post-Christian, religious tradition, I am fascinated with the idea that, for the first time since the time of the Roman emperor Constantine, we here in the West are living in a society that is seeing “the growth of and significant visible presence of non-Christian and non-Orthodox Christian bodies competing for the religious allegiance of the public.” In a way, we Unitarian Universalists are a part of this explosion of new religious movements.
At times, however, my fascination is a horrified fascination. A number of the new religious movements that are now part of our religious landscape combine charismatic leadership, authoritarianism, power, and lots of money — a potent combination. Needless to say, the money becomes very important — but I’ll get to that later.
My fascination has led me to spend some time exploring this emerging new world of new religious movements — and I believe my explorations have led me to better understand who we Unitarian Universalists are. That’s why I thought I’d share with you some of my explorations of new religious movements.
The first step is to try to define a new religious movement. First of all, we’re not talking about “cults.” Religious scholars have a very precise definition of what “cult” means, and while some new religious movements are cults by this definition, most are not. In popular parlance, “cult” is a word merely a pejorative word used to describe religious movements you happen to despise — for example, in the Bible Belt Unitarian Universalism is sometimes called a “cult,” whereas some Unitarian Universalists have been known to call fundamentalist Christian groups “cults.” So I use the term “new religious movements,” which allows me to like some of them and not like others.
How new is a new religious movement? Definitions vary. Some scholars say “new” means that the movement has come into prominence wince 1945; others say since 1960; still others are willing to include the past hundred years.
Some new religious movements fall into a category called “alternative spiritualities.” Let me give you an example. Feminist spirituality cannot be defined as a religious movement; you don’t “belong” to feminist spirituality; it’s an alternative spirituality that you might happen to follow. Christopher Partridge in his book New Religions: A Guide puts it this way: “Arguably, one of the more significant developments in particularly Western religious adherence is the emergence of private, non-institutional forms of belief and practice…. There is a move away from a ‘religion’ that focuses on things that are considered external to the self… to ‘spirituality’ — that which focuses on ‘the self’ and is personal and interior.” However, some alternative spiritualities — feminist and eco-feminist spiritualities, for example — don’t focus so much on the self, and are often practiced within an established religious movement.
All right, we’ve got the definitions out of the way. And at this point, an obvious question comes up: is Unitarian Universalism a new religious movement? And the answer is no, but maybe yes.
No, we are not a new religious movement, because we’re not new. In North America, there have been people calling themselves Universalists since at least 1770. There have been Unitarians in North America since 1785, and in Europe since about 1550. And no, we’re not a new religious movement, because we’re better defined as a traditional denomination.
Or maybe yes, we are a new religious movement. The most important element of Unitarian Universalism in the past forty years has been feminist and eco-feminist spiritualities. For some people, Unitarian Universalism today is defined by the so-called “seven principles,” and those seven principles are the result of the feminist movement within Unitarian Universalism. And Unitarian Universalism represents the merger of two denominations, the Unitarians and the Universalists, in 1961, which may make us a new religion. So maybe we are a kind of new religious movement ourselves. Maybe.
Most new religious movements are pretty innocuous, but a few others combine charismatic leadership, authoritarianism, power, and money in ways that can seem a little troubling. Let’s take a look at one such new religious movement, the Church of Scientology. I pick them only because they’ve been in the news recently.
The Church of Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer who was, by all accounts, a pretty charismatic guy. Hubbard decided to found his own religion back in the 1950’s, which he wound up calling Scientology; and to increase the charisma of his group, he started wooing celebrities. This deliberate policy has brought charismatic celebrities like John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Chick Corea, Isaac Hayes, and, most famously, Tom Cruise, into Scientology. So there we have charisma.
Then there’s the authoritarianism. According to a recent article by Janet Reitman in Rolling Stone magazine, the Church of Scientology maintains a quasi-military organization called “Sea Org,” complete with uniforms, boot-camp-style training, and regimentation. When members leave Scientology, under Church rules their family and friends who are Scientologists sever all contact with them. And Scientology lashes out at critics: famously, founder L. Ron Hubbard said anyone who criticized Scientology could be “tricked, sued, or lied to and destroyed”; and the Church continues to lash out at critics, as the recent fuss over the “South Park” television show demonstrates.
Scientology also has lots of money. The Church owns 500 acres in southern California where they entertain celebrities, a big part of Clearwater, Florida, and lots more real estate besides. They get their money through by charging for religious services. “Rolling Stone” reporter Janet Reitman went to a Scientology church in Manhattan. A woman sat down with her, asked about her personal problems, and said that Reitman could use an introductory seminar for $50 and a starter kit for $100. Rietman went back a few days later for a free “auditing” session, which revealed that she could benefit from an auditing “intensive” for $2,000, and a purification cleanse for another $2,000. That’s $4,150 for the first few months as a Scientologist! In her article published March 9, Reitman reports that one long-term Scientologist said that she had paid $250,000 to the church over twenty years — and that’s not uncommon.
Charisma, authoritarianism, and money — when these exist in a new religious movement, they can be a potent force. Of course, these do not exist in all new religious movements. I’ve already spoken of my own affinity for eco-feminist spirituality, another new religious movement. Eco-feminist spirituality does not have a charismatic leader; indeed, it is critical of central charismatic leaders. Eco-feminist spirituality is decentralized, and the exact opposite of authoritarian. Nor is there much money to be gained from eco-feminist spirituality. You’ll find many of the same characteristics in neo-Paganism: no central charismatic leader; decentralization rather than authoritarianism; and not much money. If Unitarian Universalism is a new religious movement, as some claim we are, we are this latter kind of new religious movement: decentralized, non-authoritarian, relying on individual conscience rather than a central leader.
Reading about and examining new religious movements has helped me better understand Unitarian Universalism; it’s like looking into a mirror to see how others might perceive us. When I look at Scientology, when I look at how they get money and how they run their church, it helps me to see, to better understand, who we are as a Unitarian Universalists.
I believe we Unitarian Universalists look pretty good compared to a new religious movement like Scientology. We don’t charge huge fees to come to worship services; we ask for voluntary contributions from members and friends, but if you can’t give this church any money, that’s OK. If you do give money to this church, the amount is set by you, not by the church. Finally, the operating budget for this church is determined through democratic process; the budget is not set in some secretive central organization.
On the other hand, when I read about how much money Scientology has, it does make me wonder. Unitarian Universalism has been starved for money for years. Our church keeps drawing down its endowment because we can’t meet operating expenses through voluntary contributions. When I was called as your minister last spring, you told me that one of the things you hoped for was that this church would become a voice for liberal religion in the South Coast region; that’s still our goal; but the reality is that we’re going to have a hard time paying our heating bills next winter, let alone be organized enough to stand up for liberal religion.
Turning from money to authoritarianism, on the one hand we Unitarian Universalists look pretty good compared to a group like the Scientologists. We insist on the right of individual conscience, and we have developed this great system of decentralized democracy that allows individual conscience to flourish while still maintaining a strong organization. On the other hand, I believe that our fear of becoming authoritarian has resulted in us starving our church and our denomination for money. After all, if we don’t give our church any money, our church can’t do anything bad, right? — but that also means that our church can’t do much good, either.
Some people are beginning to worry that if we keep our voluntary contributions so low, we’re going to put ourselves right out of business. I’ve heard various doomsday scenarios predicting that Unitarian Universalism is going to fade out in another generation. While I feel that prediction is too extreme, it’s hard for me to accept the fact that we have a fraction of the power and money of the Scientologists, even though they’re the same size as us.
As I said before, looking at new religious movements proves to be a sort of mirror in which we can see ourselves better. Right now, the authoritarian religions appear quite wealthy and quite powerful, while decentralized democratic religions appear poor and less powerful. Even though Unitarian Universalists and neo-Pagans and other similar groups attract more newcomers, we lack the power and influence of some of the authoritarian groups. It’s almost as if we religious liberals are bent on proving that unhealthy charisma and authoritarianism are the way to go. It would seem to make more sense to fund ourselves adequately, and do the work required to maintain our decentralized democracy.
Personally, I still believe that decentralized, democratic, liberal religion can and does work better than any other kind of religious approach. And I still believe liberal religion should be a powerful voice in our community, in this country, and in the world. Because of these beliefs, my individual conscience tells me to voluntarily give five percent of my gross income to Unitarian Universalism. Because I believe that where you put your money tells a lot about what you believe.
What do you believe?