The Pendulum of Belief By Kimberley Debus

A seventy-something friend of mine recently began reading my blog, Notes from the Far Fringe, and last Sunday approached me about it. Its good, but its a lot of God talk for a UU, isnt it? I smiled, knowing this man was just this side of calling himself an atheist, remembering that about six years ago he complained that there was too much God in the hymns we sang for a service on Jacobs Ladder. I then assured him that this was where my path was leading, and there was certainly room enough in the big tent of Unitarian Universalism for his beliefs and mine. He agreed, but then he confessed, Im not sure whats happening theres so much more religious talk than there used to be. His comment stuck with me as I thought about my own journey as a UU. I am in my first year at Union Theological Seminary in New York. I am also in my late forties, in the leading edge of Generation X. I and my Boomer siblings were raised by Unitarian parents of the GI generation what Tom Brokaw called the Greatest Generation. They taught us to appreciate the richness of human potential, prized education, reason, and critical thinking. Christmas and Easter werent religious holidays but rather were sentimental family traditions. My folks were the very model of that strong humanist Unitarian that we know today as our elders. And thank God for them. Our movement would not be alive if it wasnt for these men and women of vision, who imagined a place where the free and responsible search for truth and meaning would be celebrated and taught from infancy. Unitarian Universalism would have died if not for the vision of coming together for common good 50 years ago. Our parents and grandparents discarded dogma and instilled in all of us a love for the entirety of humanity. It is that freedom and vision that has allowed me to explore the bigger questions does God exist? Who is God? What do I believe about life and death, good and evil, faith and action? In that exploration, I have gone from agnostic to pagan to theist. More than that, Im willing to say the words God, Jesus Christ, heaven, hell, holy, sacred, sin, sacrifice, redemption, resurrection words that to various degrees caused anaphylactic shock when uttered in our congregations. So too, many of our members under 50 are willing to say these words and consider these concepts. So is every seminarian and recent seminary grad I have met over the past couple of years. Whats going on? To people over 50 Boomer, Silent, and GI Generations, this must seem scary. But its not just us. We are seeing shifts in many religious communities. A group of GenX fundamentialist Christians have taken
2012 Kimberley Debus

on the moniker Outlaw Preachers, as theyre using words and ideas about the ministry of Jesus that are anathema to their elders. Jay Bakker, son of the very conservative Jim and Tammy Faye, is encouraging acceptance of LGBT peoples into evangelical churches. On the ground, we are seeing Xers and Millennials who grew up unchurched, seeking to learn about religion and begin the spiritual journey many over 50s were forced to begin in Sunday schools across the nation. And intriguingly, they all seem willing to talk about God. The under 50s in our congregations often grew up unchurched, or they grew up in our humanist congregations. They have learned well the same lessons about human potential and dignity, reason and freedom. But now, their journey is taking them into a search for something differently spiritual something that draws them toward concepts of God and spiritual deepening and heart-led worship. This may be surprising Gen X is a very pragmatic, just do it kind of generation; but they also value personal meaning over larger visions. And it is this same attitude, done in lets do it big and do it together style that the Millennials echo when they seek a more spirit-based worship. It isnt better and it isnt worse than what came before. Its the pendulum swing of generational dynamics. We needed our strong humanist parents and grandparents to get us together and keep us going. I hope we never lose this it grounds us as a religion that puts people first, that drives our commitment to tolerance, compassion, and justice. That we are swinging to more religious, theistic talk means that a new generation of UUs are looking for different ways to build the faith that propels them into action. Its nothing to be afraid of. In fact if we encourage it, it means Unitarian Universalism will thrive and grow. And be assured, Boomers and Silents the littlest ones in our nurseries, and those not yet born, will be just like you and will swing the pendulum back.

2012 Kimberley Debus