We all know that we live in a pluralistic world—including a world that is religiously pluralistic. Probably no one lives in that world as fully as chaplains that serve the military, hospitals, hospices and prisons. Unitarian Universalist ministers are particularly well suited to chaplaincy in our multi-faith society. We already respect and affirm the wisdom …
Permanent link to this article: http://president.blogs.uua.org/ministry/service-and-military-chaplaincy/
When I entered seminary, a month shy of my 50th birthday, it came as a surprise to people who had known me for many years. I remember the wife of my undergraduate economics professor, herself a sociologist, commenting that she had just read an article about middle aged people (or, in my case, past middle …
Permanent link to this article: http://president.blogs.uua.org/faith/from-the-road-reunion/
In my last entry I talked about the rapid rise of the “nones”—people who express no religious affiliation. Another fascinating trend is the unsteady and slow decline in the confidence Americans have in organized religion. Take a look at the chart below. It shows the trend over the last 40 years. This chart is taken …
Permanent link to this article: http://president.blogs.uua.org/liberal-religion/loss-of-confidence/
Religion in America is in the midst of a dramatic change. The change is not what most people believe. I remember hearing about the rise of fundamentalism. Actually, evangelical fundamentalism is in slow decline and has not grown in 20 years. Biblical literalism is less than half of what it was 50 years ago, down …
Permanent link to this article: http://president.blogs.uua.org/liberal-religion/rise-of-the-nones/
I have always been fascinated by why some congregations grow and thrive while others decline and struggle. I have read any number of studies on the subject. Lately I have noticed something that healthy congregations have in common, something that I don’t see talked about much in the literature or in workshops on membership. It …
Permanent link to this article: http://president.blogs.uua.org/ministry/lighten-up/
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