Unitarians Keep the Faith After Attack in Church

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Unitarians Keep the Faith After Attack in Church
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 2, 2008; Page B09

Across the country, as well as in the Washington area, hundreds of Unitarian Universalist congregations held services and candlelight vigils this week after a deadly rampage at a Knoxville, Tenn., church to show support for their denomination's long-standing progressive tradition. Two people were killed and six wounded Sunday in a shooting at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, allegedly by an out-of-work trucker who, according to the Knoxville police chief, "hated the liberal movement." A seventh person was wounded in the ensuing chaos....

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Since the shooting, some Unitarian churches have held education sessions to explain their denomination to the public. "People are determined to speak out" and defend and explain Unitarian values and beliefs, said Janet Hayes, a spokeswoman for the Boston-based national office. "They're not hiding. They're actually reaching out and opening up."

As a denomination, Unitarianism is tiny: According to the 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 0.3 percent of adults identify themselves as Unitarian Universalists. The Unitarian Universalist Association has 1,000 U.S. churches with 220,000 members.

It is a faith that has long been known for unabashed liberalism in its theological and political beliefs. It has no creed. Instead, it has a set of principles that give its members wide latitude. "Private religious beliefs we leave to the individuals," Hayes said.

The denomination considers itself "post-Christian," she said. "We include the teaching of Jesus and we appreciate the wisdom of the Bible, but we don't limit our sources of inspiration to the Christian faith." Unitarians also look to other faiths, such as Native American beliefs, neopaganism, Judaism, Buddhism and, more recently, Islam. "The driving belief behind it is that there is wisdom in many places," Hayes said....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080103082.html?hpid=sec-religion