Even though the religious right dominates the public discourse in the United States, we all know religious liberals are everywhere. I think we religious liberals should be willing to stand up and be public about who we are.
So as a small first step, add your name (yes, pseudonyms are OK) to the “Yet Another Unitarian Universalist Map” [LATER NOTE: map now removed] — ’cause if you read this blog, you must be a religious liberal. And if you’re not a Unitarian Universalist, you can add a comment to your name with your religious affiliation (or lack thereof). Stand up and be counted — and show the religious right that we are far cooler and more widespread than they are!
Footnote: I’ve become fascinated by the new phenomenon of Google Maps, and the so-called “mash-ups” that you can make with Google maps. Google has allowed programmers access to the code of their mapping software such that it is possible to make all kinds of custom maps. Philocrites noticed this mapmaking phenomenon recently, and used Frappr.com to create a map mash-up for his readers. Frappr.com is one of several programmers who are making Google map mash-ups easily available to those of us who are non-programmers.
I’d like to see someone with programming skills do a custom Google map-mash-up showing the locations of all Unitarian Universalist congregations in North America. I’ll bet Anna Belle, over at Talking UU Technology knows some developers who could do this — or maybe one of the readers of this blog has such skills (like maybe James?).
But the real point is that, in case you haven’t noticed, we are in the middle of a “culture war” here in the States. Rather than emigrate to Canada, or wring our hands and whine a lot, it’s time to become culturally creative — and make it obvious that it is far cooler to be a religious liberal than to be on the religious right. And yes, this is a call to action — you’re creative, get on it!
Comment from bill67998 transferred from old blog
What is the religious right?
Most Liberal Democrats I know are Catholic.
Catholicism has never struck me as a liberal theology.
Many Conservatives can belong to Free Churches with long history of liberal theology… at least in the sense they value individual and the individuals personal revaltion of God not mediated through a preist or clergy. Â Sometimes radically so…
For a good definition of religious liberals, read Paul Rasor’s new book, A Faith without Certainty (Boston: Skinner House, 2005), available through the UUA Bookstore. N.B: Religious liberal does not equate to political liberal.
Thanks, I’ll look for the book by Rasor. I think it’s important peole not equate Religious
Liberal with Political Liberal.
But just looking at Liberal Religion, I read Seewald’s interview with Ratzinger published
as Salt of the Earth originally in the late 90s (before he bacame Pope). The end
of the introduction says this,
At one point I asked him how many ways to God there were. I really didn’t know what he
would answer. He could have said “only one” or “several”. The Cardinal didn’t take long to
answer: As many, he said, as there are people.
So if the Pope believes that, how’s he different from a Religious Liberal? Or is there such
as thing as a difference between Liberal and Conservative religion anymore? It’s not the
Irish Catholicism I remember from the 1960’s and I wondered if Liberals had won and not
realized it.
This text blog doesn’t scroll by the way. I had to enter hard returns.