We don't think alike but we all go to the same church

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Islam and Unitarian Universalism

The word Islam means submission to the will of God. Muslim means those who submit. Allah, the Muslim name for God means, the Almighty.

Historically, Unitarians believed in One God as distinguished from a trinity. Unitarians describe Jesus as a holy man and a prophet but not God just as the Muslim's do.

Universalists believe that everybody is going to heaven and Muslims seem to me to pretty much believe the same thing. It says in the Qur'an,

"We believe in God and that which has been revealed to us, and also that which was revealed to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes, and in that given to Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to God do we submit our will." Surah 3:84

So, I am curious why there isn't a greater affinity between Unitarian Universalists and Muslims. I know that Christianity, historically, has a stronger root for UU than Islam, but when I compare religions it appears that Islam may have more in common with contemporary Unitarian Universalism than UU does with Christianity.

I would appreciate any comments on this observation.

Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) - Heaven/Where True Love Goes Video lasts 4:50

The day Texas tried to say that Unitarian Universalism was not a religion

I missed this story when it happened (2004) but apparently a recent Texas Comptroller attempted to remove the tax exempt status of the Unitarian Universalist Church, by denying that it did not fit Texas' definition of a church because it did not advocate one strict doctrine. This put the state of Texas in the business of defining what a religion is, and specifically stating that it must involve belief in a higher power. Without such belief, the religion is "creedless" and not a religion in the eyes of the state.

From the blog, The Weaker Party. To read more about this situation click here.

Muslims meet Unitarians in Port Angeles, Washington

Muslims meet Unitarians for Islam 101 at Olympic Unitarian Universalist Church at Port Angeles, Washington on August 25, 2007. Video lasts 3:11

The 5 Pillars of Unitarian Universalism

Jaume de Marcos Andreu said on 06/14/08

This is just an experiment, but if the 5 pillars of UUism follow the pattern of Islam (1 belief + 4 practices), then they could be:

1. Every person has inherent worth and dignity (this is a belief, no scientific experiment proves it to be true)

2. Join others in religious congregations and attend worship gatherings and celebrations

3. Pay respect to your spiritual ancestors by remembering them, at least once a year

4. Learn about and honor the ways of religion from all cultures and traditions

5. Participate in your society by doing actions in pursuit of freedom, peace and justice, where you live and everywhere

David G. Markham said on 06/14/08

Hi Jaume:

Thanks for your ideas. They are great. Supposing we tightened them up a bit and make them more prescriptive:

1. All UUs acknowledge the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

2. All UUs support one another in their search for religious and spiritual "truth" by attending religious services at least once per month and more often if possible.

3. All UUs participate in religious study at least 20 hours per year to understand and sustain the memory of the history of our religious tradition.

4.All UUs study and be able to pass a religious literacy exam which demonstrates their knowledge of at least the five major world relgions at an introductory level if they are intellecually capable of mastering such knowledge.

5. All UUs are expected to engage in charible works donating time and money as they are able to improve the lives of the poor, the oppressed, and to rectify social injustice. Suggested minimal levels of donation are 5% of net income, and a minimum of 2 hrs. per week.

What do you think?

All the best,

David Markham

Are Muslims Unitarians?

It dawned on me this morning that Muslims are Unitarians. They believe in one God not a trinity. They believe that Muhammad is God's messenger but they also acknowledge other prophets such as Jesus and Abraham. In some ways it appears that Islam may be closer to Unitarianism than Chrisianity in terms of the understanding of the presumed nature of God.

5 Pillars of Islam - Relevance to Unitarian Universalism?

The 4th principle of Unitarian Universalism is the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Part of that responsible search is to become religiously literate. According to Stephen Prothero, in his book Religious Literacy, there is a core set of concepts that a religiously literate person should know. I will be periodically describing these concepts on this blog and I will be tagging these items "Dictionary of Religious Literacy."

The first concept is "5 pillars of Islam."

The five pillars of Islam are:

Shahadab - There is no God but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.

Salat - prayer in the direction of Mecca 5 times per day.

Sawm - fasting from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan

Zakat - almsgiving to the poor

Hajj - pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one's lifetime.

One of the criticisms of UU is that there are no distinctive disciplines of religious practice except coffee hour. Islam is a religion that emphazises practice and behavior more than credal beliefs. When you consider the 5 pillars only the first one has to do with theology or belief. All the rest prescribe behavior and practice.

If UU was to learn this lesson of a world religion from Islam what might some of its prescribed and unique practices be?

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