First Parish Church Unitarian Universalist, 40 Church Street, Northborough, Massachusetts, USA (source: Daderot | Wikimedia Commons).
Controversy and signs of schism related to “woke” politics and religion have found their way into Unitarian Universalism (UU), a religious movement that has long been considered a standard bearer of progressive, tolerant, and pluralistic religion. In the Financial Times (December 7), Jemima Kelly reports that much of the recent controversy and conflict started after UU pastor Todd Eklof published the Gadfly Papers, a 2019 book attacking the church’s leadership. Eklof argued that the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was driving the church in an illiberal, dogmatic, intolerant and “identitarian” direction, devolving into a “self-perpetuating echo chamber” stressing “emotional thinking” over logic and reason. The controversy that this generated in the denomination surprised the staunchly liberal and Democratic Eklof and “serves as a kind of microcosm of the way the culture wars can divide even the most politically liberal members of American society,” Kelly writes. Indeed, the struggle in the UUA is between people on basically the same side of the political spectrum.
Since the book’s publication, Eklof has been accused of racism, homophobia, ableism and bullying, removed from a mentoring position at a theological school, and “disfellowshipped” from the church. He argues that the church’s principles of religious freedom and tolerance are being abandoned as it has embraced the anti-racist theory that has gained ground in progressive academic circles. At this year’s general assembly, 86 percent of delegates voted for a proposed change to the UUA’s bylaws that would effectively scrap the “principles” that have existed in some form since the merged church was founded in 1961, replacing them with a set of “values” that would include a new commitment to “dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression.” The amendment to the “Article II” clause will need just two-thirds approval to be voted through at next year’s general assembly. Opposition to this amendment is strong, and at least two groups have been set up to fight its passing, Save The 7 Principles, and the 5th Principle Project, Kelly reports.
One of the most vocal opponents of Eklof and his allies, who have become known as “the Gadflies,” is Reverend Sarah Skochko, who called Eklof’s book “morally reprehensible” in a sermon to her congregation in Eugene, Oregon. She describes “the Gadflies” as an “alt-right movement” within the church, made up of “overwhelmingly retired…mostly white men” who are “trying to stop the justice work of our denomination.” Meanwhile, Eklof has gained the support of 62 UU ministers, including the prominent African American theologian and pastor Reverend Thandeka, who signed a letter protesting his treatment by the church. For his part, Eklof has recently started the North American Unitarian Association (NAUA). With just 700 members in four churches, he said that the association will do the things that the UUA was meant to, such as providing an “open-minded community that allows people with different beliefs and backgrounds to live together peacefully.” Kelly reports that the NAUA is adding about two new members every day, holds its own services and education sessions, and has its own monthly newsletter. The group is planning its first general assembly and is in discussion with other Unitarian churches in other countries about creating a global association.
(Financial Times, https://www.ft.com/content/ec58bccb-668b-445f-ba7c-824297eb885d)
