Former Catholics, Jews and Protestants of all denominations; practicing Buddhists; agnostics and even atheists - every Sunday in Utah, they come together to worship under one roof.
Some believe in reincarnation, others think they'll only go around once. Some believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God, others believe he was one of many important spiritual teachers. Some are into alternative medicine, some believe in life on other planets.There are perhaps more differences than similarities between individual members, and individual congregations, of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Utah.
But there is a distinct common thread that unites the 700 adult members: They are still searching for spiritual truth.
"What holds us together is that we really don't like to have a homogenous belief system," said the Rev. Tom Goldsmith, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City. "We thrive on the diversity we learn from each other.
"I could be free to talk about reincarnation from the pulpit and I'd know that nobody would be offended by it because we're not really defensive about our views. Someone might say, `Gee, that was really interesting,' or `That got me thinking. I've never thought about that before.' "
Scores of Utahns are apparently thinking that style of worship suits them better than other organized religions they may have been associated with in the past.
Goldsmith estimates nearly 95 percent of the church's Utah members originally belonged to another faith. Some were part of Unitarian Universalist congregations in other states, he said, and some still belong to other faiths but choose to worship as Unitarian Universalists.
"I think the denomination as a whole appeals to searchers - people who are actively searching and see life in terms of a path rather than in terms of a definite answer," said Doug Stewart, a former Methodist who serves on the board of trustees for the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society in Sandy.
Wherever they're coming from, the number of adult members in Utah has increased by 52 percent over the past five years, from 459 in 1991 to about 700 this year. The South Valley church, which became Utah's second UUA congregation when it earned charter status in 1983, was recognized in 1993 by the church's national headquarters in Boston as the fastest-growing Unitarian Universalist church in the country.
Three other Utah congregations - in Logan, Ogden and Park City - have organized in the 1990s. Smaller, unofficial groups have formed recently in Cedar City, St. George and in Pocatello and Idaho Falls.
Of the seven states in the Mountain Desert District of the UUA, Utah's congregations are growing at the fastest rate, according to Renee Schreiner, administrative assistant for the district. There are 4,278 members in the district, she said.
The growth has occurred without a lot of outreach.
"It's a very tolerant religion that doesn't proselytize that we have all the answers and know what's right for everyone else," said John Hanrahan, president of the board of directors of the Park City Unitarian Universalist Church. "We don't actively go out and say, `Come here and see the light.' A lot of it's just word of mouth. People will come by and check it out."
The Unitarian Universalist Association was formed in 1961 through a merger of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America.
The Unitarian Church, founded in 16th-century Europe, was heavily influenced in this country by the Transcendentalism movement. That heritage is not lost on today's church members.
"The search of an inquiring mind, one of the foundations of the Transcendentalist movement, is very much a part of it," the Rev. Goldsmith said. "The common ground is that we are very much a this-world oriented church with the moral commitment . . . to this transformation of society (into) a very just and fair society."
While the church has no specific creed, doctrine or dogma, it does have some basic tenets to which members generally ascribe. They include commitments to: religious freedom, human dignity and the inherent worth of every person; a belief that an ongoing search for truth and meaning is essential to religion; a belief that religious teachings must be subject to the test of reason and experience; nourish ethical sensibilities and personal responsibility rather than imposing rules on people.
Carla Gourdin, a member of the South Valley congregation's board of trustees, was attracted to the UUA church because of "the loving support that I feel, living my life according to the dictates of my own conscience."
"It is solely based on allowing the individual to live what they believe in," she said. "We don't say, `This is what you have to believe in to belong to this church.' We support you in believing whatever you want to believe and support you in your spiritual growth."
That includes a belief system that may or may not involve the existence of a supreme being.
"You don't need to believe in God to have a spiritual aspect to your life," Hanrahan said. "People still want to have some spiritual growth, and some like to do that in a group setting."
The South Valley church could become the first of Utah's UUA congregations to officially recognize itself as a "welcoming congregation," meaning it openly accepts and invites members who are gay or lesbian.
The church must first meet several requirements. At least 10 percent of its members must be gay or lesbian, which is now the case, Gourdin said, and parishioners must participate in a series of training sessions. Then the matter is voted on by the congregation.
Both the First Unitarian and South Valley congregations have active youth programs. About 200 children participate in religious education classes at First Unitarian, where they are exposed not only to the Old and New Testaments but to religions and belief systems from around the globe.
"We try to give them some biblical literacy - that this is not the literal truth, these are stories, but we should know them as educated people," the Rev. Goldsmith said. "We try to educate them in situational ethics and try to help them develop a strong sense of moral goodness, differentiating right from wrong, and how to survive in the world as bright, intuitive beings."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Unitarian Universalist Society
Membership growth - Utah
YEAR MEMBERS
1991 459
1992 477
1993 498
1994 557
1995 700
SOURCE: Directory of Churches