Cucumber Talks

Rev. Chris Rothbauer - What Is Unitarian Universalism?

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Today’s guest on Cucumber Talks is Rev. Chris Rothbauer, a Unitarian Universalist minister serving a congregation in Auburn Alabama.

Here’s what we discussed:

  • Chris got involved in church as a teenager. However, the churches they attended said their sexuality was a sin. This pushed Chris to the brink of suicide and to leave the church altogether
  • While studying philosophy abroad in England, Chris was introduced to Unitarian Universalism
  • Chris quickly found meaning within the Unitarian Universalism community and felt called to go to seminary school
  • Michael Servetus was an early influencer of Unitarianism. His book The Errors of the Trinity suggested that the Trinity was non-Biblical
  • Unitarianism began spreading after Servetus was put to death
  • Universalism emerged as people began asking why an all-loving God would condemn some to hell
  • Unitarianism and Universalism merged in 1961
  • Unitarian Universalism is less about right belief and more about right action
  • the Council of Nicea’s vote narrowly came down on the side of the Trinity
  • Like many modern Unitarian Universalists, Chris doesn’t consider themself a Christian. Their practice leans toward religious naturalism these days
  • Some of the early US presidents and founding fathers as well as famous transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson were Unitarians
  • Humanism had a major influence on UU in the 20th century
  • UU is about people sharing similar values instead of the same beliefs
  • The structure of UU services is similar to traditional protestant churches
  • UU tends to not focus on evangelicalism. This is one of the reasons for its decline in popularity.
  • According to Chris, many UU members come from abusive Christian backgrounds
  • UU is very visible at social justice events
  • Chris believes that one of the strengths of UU is that they continually evaluate their values and allow them to evolve over time
  • The majority of UU members do not believe in hell and see it as a metaphor for when people are at odds on Earth
  • Chris’s church attracts many “spiritual refugees”, a term they use to describe people who have wounds from negative experiences in evangelical churches
  • UU believes that all people have inherent worth and dignity but some beliefs don’t
  • Chris believes that change rarely happens through intellectual discussions, but instead through relationship building
  • The biggest spiritual lesson Chris has learned is to ask yourself if you’re making the world a better place or not. This is religion and spirituality at its best

    • Resources mentioned in this episode:

    - Learn more about Chris: Revchris.faith

    - On the Errors of Trinity by Michael Servetus

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