# I'm heading out to a Unitarian Church Service today, I'm also an Athiest. Right place to go? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 20, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811 "2013-01-20T16:10:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/21 "2013-01-22T04:36:14Z")
I’ve often considered going into the UU church just to see. But, I mean, tell me the truth - is it going to be all “Great Spirit”? ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/22 "2013-01-22T05:17:17Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Um . . . no. > > Unitarian Universalism is a non-credal community. That means the hierarchy does not promote or insist on any one belief. That does not mean the members “don’t really believe anything (while simultaneously believing in everything)”. It means each individual is welcome, regardless of his or her beliefs and encouraged in a free and responsible search for truth, whatever its form. Some individuals believe that Jesus of Nazareth is their Savior. Others recognize the divine as both male and female with many facets and practice magic as a type of worship. Still more have either drawn no conclusion or believe that there is no God or that God is ultimately unknowable. Huh. Unitarianism sounds a bit like Hinduism ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/23 "2013-01-22T12:14:03Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I’ve often considered going into the UU church just to see. But, I mean, tell me the truth - is it going to be all “Great Spirit”? Depends on the particular location you go to. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/24 "2013-01-22T15:52:18Z")
Well, somebody go to the one on my street and tell me! God, do I have to do everything myself with you people?! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/25 "2013-01-22T16:05:33Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Well, somebody go to the one on my street and tell me! God, do I have to do everything myself with you people?! You probably want us to sample the coffee too, I bet. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/26 "2013-01-22T16:24:05Z")
I don’t drink coffee! You are a terrible personal assistant. (Tell me if they have those little packets of marshmallow hot cocoa, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/27 "2013-01-22T17:51:31Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I don’t drink coffee! You are a terrible personal assistant. > > (Tell me if they have those little packets of marshmallow hot cocoa, though.) Ours does, and tea. But organic, free range, fair trade packets of cocoa with marshmallows ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/28 "2013-01-22T18:49:11Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > Huh. Unitarianism sounds a bit like Hinduism I don’t know enough about Hinduism to say yes or no, but I imagine Hindus are more organized than UUs. Everyone else is. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/29 "2013-01-22T20:30:04Z")
I joined a UU congregation in July. As an Atheist/Humanist it works for me. We have a “hUUmanist” discussion group that meets once a month. They did a survey a few years back, and about a third of the congregation is some sort of non-deist, a third some flavor of christian, and the other third various other deistic or poly-deistic beliefs. Beyond diversity of beliefs, the congregation is far more diverse than those of christian churches I have attended…we are a little on the pale side though. We are not a “black church” and not even Christian, and that is a tough sell to a lot of AAs that have been raised to have certain expectations of “church”. The bad thing is if your local UU church isn’t to your liking, you probably don’t have much choice, 'cause there is probably only one, and it may not be too close at that. It is not like the Baptists where even smallish communities might have 2-3 different congregations. I have attended a service in another city once. I liked it much less, but it was just the one service, and not their usual format, I understand, so I’ll give them another shot next time I am in their town on a Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/30 "2013-01-22T23:57:57Z")
For the members of the UU congregations, I am curious. You mention that there are some Christians who are members of your congregation. What exactly is the appeal of your congregation to the Christian worshipers? I would assume that the Christians would get more what they are looking for by attending the Baptist or Lutheran or Catholic or Methodist or various other Christian Denominational Churches. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/31 "2013-01-23T01:09:32Z")
You would have to ask them. I think a few of them are gay and out, and don’t care to be around people who have a problem with that. A lot of Christian churches also have strong conservative political undercurrents. Maybe they appreciate the diversity as I do. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/32 "2013-01-23T04:06:33Z")
> [@Hottius\_Maximus](#): > > For the members of the UU congregations, I am curious. You mention that there are some Christians who are members of your congregation. What exactly is the appeal of your congregation to the Christian worshipers? I would assume that the Christians would get more what they are looking for by attending the Baptist or Lutheran or Catholic or Methodist or various other Christian Denominational Churches. A common UU family is one where one member of the household (say Mom) is Christian and another member (say Dad) is atheist or Jewish or Pagan or - something different. Becoming UU allows each adult to have the beliefs that they have, while still allowing the family to be part of a congregation. The kids get Sunday school that isn’t going to say “Dad is going to hell.” I teach UU Sunday school and that is a lot of my families. Also, if you are in a community where you have a lot of conservative churches, and you need a religious community, you might end up at a UU church because the community lacks Quakers or UCC. I’m no longer Christian, but I’d go to a UUC church in a community where I didn’t have other options. Some UU churches are also indistinguishable in their worship from a liberal Christian congregation like the UUC. The community is 90% Christian, and then there are a few Pagans or Humanists that hang out that don’t need to hide. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/33 "2013-01-23T04:09:52Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > I don’t know enough about Hinduism to say yes or no, but I imagine Hindus are more organized than UUs. > > Everyone else is. My church is very organized. Non-dogmatic, but that doesn’t mean its unorganized or unstructured. And the UUA is pretty well organized. After all, the other joke about UUs is that the reason that they let you worship whomever you want is that the committee hasn’t reached consensus. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/34 "2013-01-23T05:12:49Z")
I went again tonight for a workshop “Religion for Atheists”. We were talking about what things we like and dislike from religion and how to incorporate it into our Atheist beliefs. Alot of it turned out to be venting about religion and how we feel we are such a minority. I participated in the venting. I think a lot of the UU congregation are atheists. It’s funny, I have found I have a hard time talking about being an Atheist to strangers. I don’t to my friends, but I think i have a fear of being judged or attacked by those who see me for who I really am. Anyways I still liked the workshop. We’re supposed to read “Religion for Atheists” for the next meeting. ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811/35 "2013-01-24T00:49:58Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > A common UU family is one where one member of the household (say Mom) is Christian and another member (say Dad) is atheist or Jewish or Pagan or - something different. Becoming UU allows each adult to have the beliefs that they have, while still allowing the family to be part of a congregation. The kids get Sunday school that isn’t going to say “Dad is going to hell.” > > I teach UU Sunday school and that is a lot of my families. > > Also, if you are in a community where you have a lot of conservative churches, and you need a religious community, you might end up at a UU church because the community lacks Quakers or UCC. I’m no longer Christian, but I’d go to a UUC church in a community where I didn’t have other options. > > Some UU churches are also indistinguishable in their worship from a liberal Christian congregation like the UUC. The community is 90% Christian, and then there are a few Pagans or Humanists that hang out that don’t need to hide. That’s very interesting. I could see a Christian marrying an atheist or a Jew or a Muslim. I find it difficult to see a “devout Christian” hooking up with a pagan or Wiccan or someone of that nature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-heading-out-to-a-unitarian-church-service-today-im-also-an-athiest-right-place-to-go/647811.md?page=1)