Spiritual Paths in Unitarian-Universalism:

Can Mind and Spirit Meet?

    This Spiritual Paths Project explores the diversity of spiritualities
within the Unitarian-Universalist movement world wide.
Perhaps there are a dozen different paths interweaving in our movement.

    Each of the persons of spirit included in this project
identifies himself or herself as a Unitarian-Universalist.
We are a creed-free movement,
but being without a prescribed system of beliefs
does not mean that UUs have no beliefs.
On the contrary, we are free to believe whatever suits us.
Hence our diversity of spiritual paths.

    Yet, we are all UUs because we allow reason to temper our beliefs.
The world is filled with thousands of forms of 'faith',
but most of them have little respect for critical reason.
In open societies, we have complete religious freedom.

    Such openness sometimes leads to free-for-all believing.
'New Age' religions provide many examples of what happens
to human imagination when it is not shaped by critical thought.
Pop spirituality seems to operate on this principle:
"If it makes you feel good, believe it."
Such 'spiritual hedonism' has sometimes infiltrated UU circles.
But usually critical thinking takes the wind out of the sails
of new forms of belief that were merely windy spiritual speculation.

    Some participants in the Spiritual Paths Project
have a spiritual traditions behind them.
Each of these participants will offer a bibliography
explaining further the form of spirituality he or she represents.
These bibliographies will give the audiences
for the various formats of the Spiritual Paths Project
reading materials that further explain each spiritual tradition.
These bibliographies will be posted on this Home Page.
Or links to on-line bibliographies will be provided.


    Some specific groups have already identified themselves
and given themselves names
on the website of the Unitarian Universalist Association:
http://www.uua.org
These include:
Covenant of UU Pagans
Fellowship of Religious Humanists
UU Buddhist Fellowship

    Several others spiritual paths will be identified and named
as The Spiritual Paths Project develops.
When any such groups or individuals suggest themselves,
the above list will be expanded.


    Other participants in the Spiritual Paths Project
will be individual Unitarian-Universalists
who have defined for themselves their own spiritual paths
even if they have no spiritual tradition behind them.


Return to the opening page of the Spiritual Paths Project.


Return to the UNITARIAN-UNIVERSALISM page.


Return to the beginning of this home page:
An Existential Philosopher's Museum.

















The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.