The most ANNOYING misconception about YOUR faith?

[Djamila]

Nope, One I have heard is that we want to take Iran and Iraq back over and "forge a new persian empire." obviously someone was taking something OTHER than perscription drugs THAT day.

You're my new favorite. lol

 

[Katzpur]

Of course not, I think I know you better than that and they were not stupid either. Thank you for asking and I hope I made a little sense.

Actually, you made a lot of sense and really helped me to understand better than I ever have in the past. I will probably want to make a few specific comments tomorrow, but I'm dead beat right now, too.

 

[Booko]

Really it just goes back to one basic concept that makes my head explode: "It is impossible to be moral without believing in god (and specifically, my god)".

Yes, I suppose it does.

I never understood this when I was an atheist, and don't understand it now.

It should be something demonstrable that atheists must be really immoral people compared to religious folks.

Well, I have no idea who's done a decent study of that, but my experience of many years is that it isn't so. If anything, when a business wears its religion on its sleeve, I run screaming in the other direction, because those are the folks more likely to screw me over.

I think people confuse "irreligious" with atheist a lot too, and that's a mistake.

 

[lilithu]

You know, this really is an interesting thread. A lot of minor misunderstandings are being corrected here. This one is a great example:

I haven't believed this for years, but as a child and as a teenager, I did. I'll tell you why. When I was very young (seven years old, as I recall), I saw the Rogers and Hammerstein movie, "The King and I." There was numerous references in it to Buddha, and the King of Siam was always praying to Buddha, asking him for blessings and thanking him for favors. When you're a kid, stuff like that makes an impression on you and it sticks. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized that Buddha wasn't just an Asian proper name for the Christian God. Hey, at least I eventually figured it out.

Hey, I believed the same thing when I was a kid, and I grew up with Buddhist aunts and uncles.

My uncle used to keep a big statue of the buddha in his fireplace. It was the centerpiece of the living room. I never saw him pray to it but when Christian missionaries came to his door, he used to point to the statue and say "I already have a god."

Not sure why but I never thought that my uncle had a different god than the Christians. (Guess I've always been a monotheist.) I thought that the Buddha and Jesus (and Santa Claus) were all the same God who dressed differently depending on what he needed to be doing.

(fyi, there are forms of buddhism, particularly amongst asian folk traditions, where the Buddha takes on an almost god-like quality. people do pray to him and hope he will intercede. Yet even so, there is the understanding that the buddha was a human being just like you and me. Near as I can explain it's kinda like the saints in catholicism, except there is no ultimate God.)

 

[lilithu]

Misconceptions? Yeah, we have plenty of them but here are just a few:
1. People think we worship the coffee

Honestly, I've never heard anyone but a UU say that we worship coffee.


Misconceptions about Unitarian Universalism:

1) That we are Christian.

2) That we are anti-Christian.


As uu_sage said:

3) That we don't believe in anything.

or

4) That we believe anything we want.


and my favorite, or should I say least favorite:

5) That we are not a religion.

 

[Katzpur]

In dealing with beliefs and theology, it's important to note that Unitarian Universalism is a way of being religious rather than a religious doctrine. For us, religion is an ongoing search for meaning, purpose, value and spiritual depth in one's life.

That way of putting it helped me a lot. The idea that you "can help people be religious" sounds very worthwhile.

I'm guessing you're referring to our 7 Principles which are:

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

• Yup, those were the ones. Thanks.

OK, now that I've made it even more confusing to a non-UU, let me attempt to answer your question. It's actually quite simple, and for that another RF UU has already spoken on this so I will quote her,

We UUs cannot believe anything that denigrates or harms other people. We can't believe anything racist, or classist, or sexist, or hetero-sexist, ageist, ableist, etc. UUs are free to believe what our consciences demand us to believe, and nothing less than that. - Lilithu[/quote]

Yeah, Lilithu always has a good way to express herself and I'm always kind of bummed out when she does her occasional disappearing act. Anyway, so if someone started attending an UU church and then, over a period of time, started making racist statements, what would the ramifications be? Would he be asked to leave or what?


​

I'm sensing that your idea of what is equally valid may be different than mine. However, individual freedom of belief is one of our basic principles. We encourage individuals to explore the mysteries of this life and why are we here in a way that is fulfilling and even challenging for them.

You're right about the word "valid." Still I was always taught to search myself, so I can definitely see the value to it. I'd say that the search has "value" as long as what is ultimately discovered is "valid."

Let me tell you a secret about UUs. We love visitors and we love to talk! But I do understand the not wanting to go alone.

If I actually were to get brave enough to go on my own, what should I expect? What would be asked of me? Would I be asked if I had been attending religious services elsewhere or presently had another church? Oh, and one more think... what should I wear and where should I sit? Is there anything in particular that I ought to know before just showing up? I do have one friend I might be able to talk into going with me.

 

[Green Gaia]

Yeah, Lilithu always has a good way to express herself and I'm always kind of bummed out when she does her occasional disappearing act. Anyway, so if someone started attending an UU church and then, over a period of time, started making racist statements, what would the ramifications be? Would he be asked to leave or what?

If someone's conduct was bad or disruptive enough, it would go to the board of trustees of the congregation and they would decide what should be done, which may include asking them to leave.

If I actually were to get brave enough to go on my own, what should I expect? What would be asked of me? Would I be asked if I had been attending religious services elsewhere or presently had another church? Oh, and one more think... what should I wear and where should I sit? Is there anything in particular that I ought to know before just showing up? I do have one friend I might be able to talk into going with me.

I'm sure you've heard us say, "every UU congregation is different", and that is true. So I can't tell you exactly what will happen at the church you visit, but I'll give you an idea based on what happens when visitors come to my church.

When someone new comes in, we have greeters by the door not only to say HI to everyone, but to identify visitors help them feel welcome, show them around and answer any questions they may have. We usually ask them to fill out a visitors card, if they want to, so they can receive our monthy newsletter. But some people are not comfortable doing that on their first visit, and that's fine, there's no pressure. Once the service has started and the announcements are read the speaker will usually ask if we have any visitors today who feel comfortable standing up and introducing yourself so every can welcome you. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS. In fact, I've never done it when I've visited churches, I'm just not that forward.

After the service, there is coffee hour where people mingle and talk. Someone may ask in passing if you attend another church, what brought you here, etc., but nothing formal.

Wear what is appropriate and comfortable for you to go to church in and generally you can sit whereever you like, the only exception I can think of is if there is a special kids program going on that day, they may have a section for them. As for dress, there is a wide range how people dress at my church. We really don't make a big deal about what someone is wearing.

I think the only thing you should know before going is know that is it probably going to be similar in some ways to a Christian service, and some things are going to be very different. For example, unless the sermon is about Jesus, you probably won't hear his name mentioned. Again though it depends on the church you visit. I suggest finding their website and checking out their upcoming services to get an idea of what is going to be the topic of the day. I know there's 2 in Salt Lake City, First Unitarian and South Valley. I will tell you that many UU churches have their Ingathering coming up this coming Sunday, so things will be slighly different than a normal service.

 

[Tigress]

The biggest misconception for me would be that I'm the stereotypical tree-hugging, vegetarian, no ('correct') morals, etc., sort of person. I'm not all that 'traditional,' so I'm often branded a 'love, light and rainbows' lunatic.--A 'New Agey freak' who isn't serious about spiritual exploration. Unfortunately, I've found that there are a number of Quakers, including Orthodox Quakers, who get this label simply for believing that direct experience of God is available to all (no need for hired clergy, outward sacraments, etc.).

 

[Booko]

Unfortunately, I've found that there are a number of Quakers, including Orthodox Quakers, who get this label simply for believing that direct experience of God is available to all (no need for hired clergy, outward sacraments, etc.).

Wow, I had no idea, Tigress. I'm left wondering if the critics think the Holy Spirit went on vacation.

 

[RyanD]

I think the best one I have is that once we get married we have a religious obligation to make lots of babies!

Also, the perceived fact that we hate Jews, hate Muslims, and follow the Bible to the letter or are damned to Hell.

Oh yeah, and the whole thing about Confession and Reconciliation being a wonder drug employed by the Church in order to make us feel scared into giving them more money. That bothers me. Just a bit.

 

[Valjean]

That the myriad "Gods" of the Hindus are conceived as objectively real entities like the Celestial Beings of the Christians and Muslims.

The Hindu gods are, in fact, subjective beings dreamed up by individuals as spiritual aids.

Unfortunately, this misconception is also common among religiously naive Hindus as well....

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The main ones:
Baby eating
Human/animal sacrifice
Devil/Satan worship
That I am a druggie and hippie just because of my strong love for nature. Which is true to a point, I have used many drugs beforce, but it's a false correlation.
Because I associate myself with Darkness, I am a Satan worshiper, and evil.

 

[AllisonW70]

My biggest pet peeve is when Christians themselves perpetuate an attitude that all Christians are perfect people with perfect lives. And that we are all going around feeling as the Ren and Stimpy cartoon would say, "happy! happy! joy! joy!" When I'm around a fellow Christian who has that attitude, I feel so uneasy, which is not good! I feel as if they think that if I'm not as elated as they are (or pretend to be) about life in general at any given moment, that I must be doing something wrong! I must not be "living right" or something. I see so many Christians with that kind of attitude and it really bothers me.

 

[Katzpur]

I think the best one I have is that once we get married we have a religious obligation to make lots of babies!

You, too?

 

[BFD_Zayl]

The main ones:
Baby eating

ok quick joke, how do you get 20 babies into a bowl? a blender!! ...how do ya get em out? ... Tortilla Chips!!! .......sorry..couldent resist :sorry1:

 

[ayani]

::hides from the dead baby jokes:: :cover:

i find a mis-conception that many of my peers have about observant Christians is that being Christian automatically makes you a neo-conservative, a creationist, and voluntarily ignorant of others' faiths. as a result there's alot of self-righteous Christian-bashing at every corner, which is both unfortunate and needlessly hostile.

fortunately the religious and inter-faith initiatives at my school are strong, and there's generally more dialogue and acceptance than otherwise. at least among the open-minded.

 

[GoldenDragon]

That we worship saints and the Virgin Mary as we would worship God and Jesus..

 

[Booko]

I think the best one I have is that once we get married we have a religious obligation to make lots of babies!

Also, the perceived fact that we hate Jews, hate Muslims, and follow the Bible to the letter or are damned to Hell.

Oh yeah, and the whole thing about Confession and Reconciliation being a wonder drug employed by the Church in order to make us feel scared into giving them more money. That bothers me. Just a bit.

I was always annoyed by the one that said Catholics were forbidden to read their Bibles.

 

[Booko]

For all religious folks:

We only follow a religion because we need a "crutch."

 

[ayani]

For all religious folks:

We only follow a religion because we need a "crutch."

i hear you loud and clear, Booko.

another mis-conception / myth- that because a person believes in a diety, there's nothing to stop him or her from believing any manner of crazed, destructive things as we lack "reason" and "logic".