I acquired a button which says Join the Struggle. I'm wearing it on my Sunday bag here “see? I like it. But what does it mean? What struggle are we invited to join? That depends, doesn't it, on what we stand for? What we value. In this ongoing exploration of our Unitarian Universalist identity, begun last week with the beginnings of our Unitarian story, I want to tell you about the Statement of Conscience the delegates passed this year at General Assembly: Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society.
The process that leads up to a vote on such a statement of conscience is a multi-year one. Individual congregations, as well as delegates at General Assembly have many chances, over a now 4 year period, to study an issue and suggest changes to the statement. The UUA bylaws say that ?The purpose of the Congregational Study/Action Process is to provide the member congregations of the Association with an opportunity to mobilize energy, ideas, and resources around a common issue. The end result will be a deeper understanding of our religious position on the issue, a clear statement of Association policy as expressed in a Statement of Conscience, and a greater capacity for the congregations to take effective action. (Article IV, section 4.12) Statements of Conscience are publicized in the media, our Washington Office for Advocacy uses them as guidelines when determining its actions and individual congregations are urged to use them as a basis for their own social justice work. It's all good.
The 2007 Statement of Conscience: Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society, reads as follows.
Moral values increasingly frame public discourse. As Unitarian Universalists, we must affirm the moral influence of liberal religion in society. At great personal risk, the forebears of our faith have taken public positions on issues of consequence such as religious freedom, abolition, women's suffrage, and civil rights. This tradition continues in our advocacy of the freedom to marry.
People often make religious claims about controversial issues such as reproductive rights, stem cell research, the death penalty, and the teaching of evolution. Their efforts to advocate one perspective, to the exclusion of others, are influencing every branch and level of government. Consequently, the United States is moving away from its constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.
It is time for Unitarian Universalists to assert and defend two basic principles underlying the United States Constitution: (1) the basic principle of freedom, the right of all human beings to follow a life of their choosing as long as others are not harmed, and (2) the basic principle of the inherent equal dignity of all human beings, which includes the right of all human beings to equal justice.
Our moral values are drawn from many sources. We are a blended family with diverse theologies but common moral values. "Values" can be defined as principles or qualities considered worthwhile by members of communities holding them and "morals" as discernment of behaviors that contribute to well-being. We recognize that we live in a moral context that spans many levels ”planetary ecology, societies, cultures, individuals, cells, and molecules that we depend upon for our individual and organizational well-being.
As an Association, we have covenanted to affirm and promote each of our seven Principles. The moral values of Unitarian Universalism correspond profoundly with those embodied in the founding documents of our nation. The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution embody freedom of religion, the right of conscience, and the worth and dignity of every person. Like the values to which we aspire as Americans, our Unitarian Universalist values are distilled from the hopes, dreams, experiences, and struggles of all who honor them.
Our Unitarian Universalist Principles parallel the Ends Principle, the Golden Rule, and the founding documents of this nation. History shows the dire consequences when this core morality is rejected. Although our country has not fully implemented the promises of its founding documents to all of its people, we Unitarian Universalists strive to help this nation fulfill those promises.
Arising from our Principles, the common denominators of Unitarianism Universalist values are Compassion, Justice, Equity, the Right of Conscience, Reason, and Respect for Others. As Unitarian Universalists, we have a responsibility to give voice to the moral values on which our faith is grounded, not only with a statement of conscience but through acts of conscience that honor the values we espouse.
As individuals, let us:
I voted against this Statement of Conscience. Not because I oppose moral values for a pluralistic society, (I mean, really) but because the statement raises three very important questions and then, because of an assertion with which I strongly disagree, either fails to answer them, or gives incomplete answers. The questions are these: First, what is the moral influence of liberal religion in society? (A hugely important question which the statement does not address further, unfortunately.) And second and third, what specifically are Unitarian Universalist moral values and where do they come from? In attempting to answer the last two questions, the statement asserts that our faith is grounded in our moral values. I heartily disagree. The Statement of Conscience locates our moral values in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, in Immanuel Kant's Ends Principle, which says that we must treat people, not as objects or means to our own ends, but as ends in themselves, and in the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you). If our faith is grounded in our moral principles, our faith, then, is grounded in the Constitution and the Declaration, in the Ends Principle and in the Golden Rule.
I don't know about you, but when I have a spiritual or faith need, or a crisis, or share something deeply at joys and sorrows, or am looking for comfort, courage, strength, inspiration, connection, I do not go to the United States Constitution, or open my philosophy book and read Immanuel Kant, or even recite the Golden Rule for either deepening my faith or finding answers to life' s important questions. Do you?
Our faith is not grounded in our moral values. On the contrary, our moral values are grounded in our faith. Let me say that again. Our faith is not grounded in our moral values. Our moral values are grounded in our faith. And since Unitarian Universalists have different faiths, the ethical values we do promote and share are uniquely suited to a society of different faiths, a pluralistic society. This is the very great gift of our kind of liberal religion. The moral values which we share take into account different belief systems. They are not exclusive, they are inclusive. The great gift of our kind of liberal religion is its moral inclusivity. Thus it can exist in a religiously pluralistic society and it promotes both respect for differences and a finding of common ground. It rejects narrow truth claims that exclude and dismiss the deep beliefs of others.
This is the question I wish the Statement of Conscience would have answered. What is the moral influence of liberal religion in our society? This is the moral influence of liberal religion in our society: constantly reminding us that common moral values can arise out of different faiths; constantly reminding us of what those values are; constantly calling us to live according to them. For the sake of peace, for the sake of justice, for the sake of what is right and good within humanity.
So what are those common Unitarian Universalist moral values? I need the answers in the Statement of Conscience to be more complete and broad and considered. And I first must ask, What are the faith structures that give rise to the moral values? If we look to the second part of our Statement of Principles and Purposes, we have the beginnings of a good answer. After articulating the seven ethical principles which many of us use as guidelines, the statement then lists six sources of our tradition, offers some of the spiritual values embedded within them and, in some cases, the moral values which arise out of them. The seven principles explicitly state the moral principles which arise out of them. Here is the whole Statement.
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:
In this way of understanding, our different faiths give voice to spiritual values, by which I mean those principles and qualities of the spirit, spiritual values which we can regard as common: trust, compassion, love, humility, the worth of human beings, openness of mind, inter-connection of all life, the importance of human community. Out of these spiritual values comes a set of moral values, or behavioral principles and qualities, which we can regard as common: acceptance, justice, equity, freedom of conscience, peace, the Golden Rule, free and responsible search for truth, respect and stewardship of the inter-dependence of life. Isn't it wonderful that no one faith structure gave rise to all of these? That only in coming together, in all our religious diversity, on common ground, we have managed to articulate a working set of spiritual and moral values that could apply to the whole of our society? We need one another. And maybe in some ways, today, that's the bottom line. This is our moral legacy as Unitarian Universalists. This is the moral relevance of Unitarian Universalism. These are moral values for a pluralistic society.
Based upon the ethical principles of acceptance, justice, equity, freedom of conscience, peace, the Golden Rule, free and responsible search for truth, respect and stewardship of the inter-dependence of life, let us as individuals and even as a congregation study and speak out about those issues of our community such as the pending hospital merger and those issues of our country, such as the health care system, funding of elections and campaign contributions, environmental responsibility, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those issues of our state, such as marriage equality, education, and so forth. Knowing that we base ourselves upon the spiritual values of trust, compassion, love, humility, the worth of human beings, openness of mind, inter-connection of all life, the importance of human community, we can be assured that even if we disagree we can find a way through. This too is our moral legacy as Unitarian Universalists.
Can two people who disagree walk together? Don't they have to if they are to live? Don't we share this world? Let us identify the spiritual values we hold in common and let us identify the moral values that arise from them, despite our different beliefs. And then let us act. For as Margaret Mead said, ? Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has. ? And as Mother Teresa said, ?Love cannot remain by itself “ it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service. Whatever form we are, able or disabled, rich or poor, it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing; a lifelong sharing of love with others. ? This is what changes the world. This is what we have to offer: spiritually and morally. It's a powerful gift. May it be so.