Read this book!

I have just finished reading To Re - Enchant the World:  A Philosophy of Unitarian Universalism.  Richard Grigg,  a religious studies professor from Connecticut, and a member of the Unitarian Society of New Haven,  argues convincingly that Unitarian Universalist congregations accomplish the unique task of bringing members into inter-subjective relationship with many different spirituality's, and this interaction helps deepen those members own understanding and practice.

Grigg argues that Unitarian Universalist congregations practice inclusive pluralism which he explains has the potential to re-enchant the world.  For more and more people in the West, secularism (which Grigg characterizes as consumerism) is disenchanting people with their world, and this is causing large scale de-moralization.  Gregg explains that neither a reactionary Christendom (a return to a monolithic top down orthodoxy) or exclusive pluralism (the current religious market of mutually exclusive faith claims) provides a viable alternative to secularism, but Unitarian Universalism does and he articulates reasons why this true.

Grigg provides the first serious attempt at a theology of pluralism for Unitarian Universalism.  Inclusive pluralism of the kind Grigg describes has been maturing within  our healthiest Unitarian Universalist congregations for the last several decades.  But it has been mischaracterized.  These congregations are not engaged in some kind of shallow eclecticism (although that may exist when the leadership has no core vision of religious liberalism,) nor are Unitarian Universalists "interfaith"  - we share a common faith and practice divergent spirituality's.  At our best we encourage the individualization of theological perspectives and spiritual practices, and we do this in covenant community institutionalizing Francis David's prayerful hope  that " we need not think alike to love alike."

I find Grigg's examination of exciting, and more perceptive about our theological diversity than the Commission on Appraisal's Engaging Our Theological Diversity.  (I find that the Commission portrays our theological diversity as more of a problem than an opportunity.)