FREEDOM - Jan 2012
Several years ago I enjoyed a written discussion between two UU colleagues on the principle of freedom and how it informs our UU faith. They arrived at similar conclusions, but their paths were marked by important distinctions on the role freedom plays in our liberal religious faith.
“A free and responsible search for truth and meaning” is the fourth principle we UU’s honor. One colleague, Roger Bertschausen, posited that “freedom is the normative and organizing principle of our liberal faith.” Liberalism, he says, is about the journey, not the destination. It is a journey because we have freedom of thought, conscience, and expression and because we invite and accept other ideas and expressions. This free and unhindered path allows us to explore our beliefs and then choose.
That might be true, said my other dear colleague, Daniel O’Connell, but that is where UU’s drop the ball: we rarely choose. We overemphasize our freedom but fail to reach a destination, where the real work begins. As long as we let freedom be the organizing principle, we don’t have to pay attention to the responsible part. “Faith in freedom is insufficient, because it requires nothing of us.” Instead, we need to view freedom as a tool. Freedom is meaningless unless we use it to find meaning and what is true for us.
So both of my colleagues agreed that UU’s should CHOOSE! We must choose an understanding of the world to embrace; choose beliefs to which hearts and souls can be attached. It is by our beliefs that we know how to act in this confusing and overwhelming world. It is our moral and ethical duty to choose, even if later we change our minds. When we have studied an issue and decided what is right, we must practice our faith. Then, upon practice we reflect on that. This is the hard work we UU’s often avoid, so lost are we in the depths of our religious freedom.
To Roger and Daniel, I say bravo. These arguments were presented in 1999, but I still find them inviting and demanding. UU’s can make a difference in the world only if we use our freedom: first to articulate our faith and then to preach it from the mountaintops.
In freedom, Rev. Kate R. Walker
That might be true, said my other dear colleague, Daniel O’Connell, but that is where UU’s drop the ball: we rarely choose. We overemphasize our freedom but fail to reach a destination, where the real work begins. As long as we let freedom be the organizing principle, we don’t have to pay attention to the responsible part. “Faith in freedom is insufficient, because it requires nothing of us.” Instead, we need to view freedom as a tool. Freedom is meaningless unless we use it to find meaning and what is true for us.
So both of my colleagues agreed that UU’s should CHOOSE! We must choose an understanding of the world to embrace; choose beliefs to which hearts and souls can be attached. It is by our beliefs that we know how to act in this confusing and overwhelming world. It is our moral and ethical duty to choose, even if later we change our minds. When we have studied an issue and decided what is right, we must practice our faith. Then, upon practice we reflect on that. This is the hard work we UU’s often avoid, so lost are we in the depths of our religious freedom.
To Roger and Daniel, I say bravo. These arguments were presented in 1999, but I still find them inviting and demanding. UU’s can make a difference in the world only if we use our freedom: first to articulate our faith and then to preach it from the mountaintops.
In freedom, Rev. Kate R. Walker
