What is the UU approach to Christianity, for those UUs who are Christian-oriented, Bible-oriented, or Theist? I know this may vary between congregations because they are diverse, but I wondered if "UU Christian" is one of the subgroups of the worldwide UU religion, just as it has CUUPS for its Earth-based adherents?
Yes, UU Christian Fellowship exists. I don't know how active it currently is.
Many UU congregations have Christmas and Easter services. Some have Christmas Eve and Good Friday services. Especially for Easter services, it's not unusual to preach a heretical understanding of the gospels. Penal substitutionary atonement would be an unusual message.
If there's a special interest by someone, you might find a Bible study or vespers service.
There's a few UU congregations that have a specifically Christian identity or dual affiliate with a Christian denomination
If you're looking to participate in communion or baptism, you probably will have to go to a Christian church
UU Christian Fellowship is quite active and holds a "revival" every year. Different UU churches have different cultures around Christianity - some are more welcoming and others less so, simply because so many have been hurt by that tradition. Check out different churches to see for yourself. :-)
Not my cosmological symbols, but I did want OP to get the support they're looking for
Ah, I should clarify that I'm not a Christian in any sense (more like an opposite, but not remotely atheist either), so this question is more about curiosity after I visited a UU church that has a Christian subgroup.
Oh! Not a problem. Yes, CUUPS and UUCF have the same sort of connection to the denomination, and their prominence in different congregations will vary by member interest
As you mentioned, it varies, and Kings Chapel UU Boston is an example of a more Christian leaning congregation. At my congregation, two ministers ago would quote from the Bible (at times), the next was more intellectual, the current is more eclectic/new agey.
I taught the Young Church (aka Sunday School) unit on Jesus for 10-12 year olds, we'd read stories from the gospel (Good News translation, easy for the kids to follow), and I emphasized that as UUs, we do not tell anyone how to interpret the Bible. It's fine they read it as just stories, that's up to each person.
A common attitude among UUs is that we don't worship Jesus as God, but we aim to follow his moral teachings. A cynical UU might add, sort of the opposite of many or most self-identified Christians.
I like cynical UUs too! For the most part UUs seem idealist, very tolerant, and liberal about most things.
Our two-ago minister could run cynical at times, in sermons..... "These so-called Christians...."
It varies widely. Many UU's don't study theology and this isn't a requirement, but Unitarian theology is Christian at its root. In fact the oroginal UUA principles said this:
"2. To cherish and spread the universal truths taught by the great prophets and teachers of humanity in every age and tradition, immemorially summarized in the Judeo-Christian heritage as love to God and love to man;"
A lot of the RE classes is where you find those Christian roots.
I personally have shifted my identity from more UU Christian to Mainline, but I still respect UU and will pop in from time to time. I just prefer liturgical worship and the structure of commiting to a more rooted faith tradition.
UU helped me to process a lot of religious trauma and to engage in soul searching. I'll always be grateful for that.
I am glad to hear that you found value in UU and even in this sub, even though you moved to a mainline Protestant church :) What were the original UUA principles and how did they change over time? I'm familiar with the current ones, especially respecting worth and dignity of every person and belief in an interdependent web of existence. I am not a UU or Christian in any sense, but I often visit UU churches for Earth-based rituals and events, and sometimes just to see if the Sunday sermon is interesting.
UU was founded as a merger of two churches. When they did, they created bylaws. Those get periodically updated.
The originals can be found here: Original Principles
In my opinion, UUA has experienced mission drift on a pretty consistent basis. Which is perfectly fine I suppose, if that's what the members want. But it does lend some credibility to the idea that it's shifted away from its Christian roots. Many would be UU Christians move on to UCC or TEC. Others, like me, pop in and out like you do.
It's interesting to see how that list of Principles has been updated over time! It's recognizable but a bit different. Why did the Unitarian and Universalist churches in particular merge? From things I read before, it seems that some explicitly Christian Unitarian groups exist too, and Biblical Unitarians.
They were two somewhat small denominations that both started as movements within the larger Christian polity and eventually gained a critical mass to form their own churches. They each had lineages of theologians. They believed very similar things and were both out of communion with the rest of Christianity, so they merged. The UUA has since picked up a bunch of random congregational churches and founded a bunch.
The Church (religion) that they created is democratically organized and what results is a bunch of loosely connected churches that agreed to follow some simple rules and to periodically revise those rules as an association. Each time they revise these rules (principles originally and now values), they have gotten broader and more abstract.
To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the new Values approach. It feels watered down to me. But that wasn't enough to get me to leave. The lack of strong spiritual focus is what has gotten me to step away.
My UU church is doing a service of lessons and carols on Christmas Eve. Nine Lessons and Carols is a liturgy first introduced in the Church of England back in Victorian days. I honestly have no idea how our ministers are going to present it, I’ll find out once I get there.