uuworld.org: liberal religion and life

Recent Stories

Charles Dickens and the notion of evil
Although his true villains are never redeemed, Dickens' novels demonstrate that good wins in the end.
By Susan Jhirad 11.1.14

Who gets to tell Jesus's story?
A single story may win, but the alternate stories do not fully disappear.
By Parisa Parsa 12.9.13

Book to note: 'Muhammad: The Story of a Prophet and Reformer'
New book for children shares stories from the life of Islam's founder.
By Michelle Richards 9.16.13

The moral arc reconsidered
Empirical evidence that the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice.
By John Weston 2.15.13

Book to note: 'An Introduction to the Unitarian and Universalist Traditions'
From Servetus to Second Life.
By Sonja L. Cohen 8.15.12

Forrest Church's spiritual odyssey
Biography reveals moving model for spiritual growth.
By Kay Montgomery 4.30.12

Rob Bell's case for Universalism
Popular evangelical Rob Bell makes the case for universal salvation.
By Thom Belote 10.24.11

A nation of religious changelings
A fickle religious marketplace offers promise and peril for Unitarian Universalists.
By Dan Cryer 7.4.11

Summer reading
What book should Unitarian Universalists take to the beach this summer?
By Sonja L. Cohen 5.30.11

Remember the pro-censorship Unitarians?
Boston's elite saw censorship as part of their larger social reform agenda.
By Christopher L. Walton 1.17.11

Natural rapture
Only when we strip away magical thinking can we see the sacred in everything.
By Kimberly French 1.17.11

Book review of 'The Antiracism Trainings'
A former editor of this magazine satirizes the Unitarian Universalist Association.
By Christopher L. Walton 11.1.10

'Fist Stick Knife Gun' as a graphic novel
Geoffrey Canada's memoir adapted by artist Jamar Nicholas.
By Christopher L. Walton 11.1.10

Meet the founders of the UU Service Committee
A new book shares the stories of the founders of the UUSC.
By Kenneth Sutton 10.4.10

Do all religions share a common thread?
Understanding our religious differences may be the best hope for promoting cooperation.
By Dan Harper 9.20.10

What can we reasonably believe about an afterlife?
Where should we assign the burden of proof for ideas about the afterlife?
By Doug Muder 7.26.10

Sitting, with a good Buddhist novel
Telling stories could be one of the most 'present' things we could do.
By Kimberly French 4.26.10

Waiting for a great novel about UU ministry
Contemporary authors have yet to plumb the true depths of Unitarian Universalist ministers' lives.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 2.8.10

Photographic tour of Wright's Unity Temple
New book celebrates Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece for an Illinois Unitarian Universalist congregation.
By Christopher L. Walton 1.4.10

Forrest Church's Universalism
For Church, 'E pluribus unum' was a civic ideal and a religious insight.
By Christopher L. Walton 11.2.09

Seeing Joseph Priestley whole
He's more than just the discoverer of oxygen and soda water.
By Scott Gerard Prinster 10.12.09

Holding the center against sectarianism and secularity
Religious liberals reject the idea that a religion is a collection of beliefs that are either true or false.
By Doug Muder 4.27.09

Reason for alarm
Books about reason in religion, environmentalism, and U.S. culture.
By Edd Doerr 1.5.09

Ted Sorensen, JFK's Unitarian speechwriter
An interview with President Kennedy's counselor and speechwriter.
By Jane Greer 10.20.08

Can spirituality help at work?
Spirituality is packaged as if it's a pep pill for overworked managers.
By Stephanie Anagnoson 9.1.08

Transcendentalism divided
Some Transcendentalists emphasized self-reliance, but others stressed social reform.
By Jeff Wilson 6.23.08

Why I'm sticking with classics
My reasons for reading Hawthorne, Melville, and Dante are hardly noble.
By W. Frederick Wooden 4.7.08

Book to note, Spring 2008
Gary Kowalski's new book.
By Christopher L. Walton 2.15.08

Forgotten story of America's whites-only towns
James Loewen documents the rise of 'sundown towns' and their enduring legacy.
By Dan Carter 1.21.08

Liberal theology, vibrant but hidden
Unitarian Universalism was liberal theology's first home, but we have neglected it lately.
By Christopher L. Walton 9.24.07

Documenting the gay marriage revolution
The story of legal same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
By Christopher L. Walton 9.17.07

Jesus for UU children
New book offers a Unitarian Universalist view.
By Christopher L. Walton 8.27.07

Passionate, unfiltered voices about ministry
New book about congregations and ministers working together.
By Kenneth Sutton 8.18.07

Louisa May Alcott's Unitarian legacy
Did 'Little Women' plant the seeds of my own Unitarian Universalism?
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 8.6.07

Books address adoption's complications
Clear and honest writing about adopting a child.
By Jane Greer 2.5.07

We are what we eat
Michael Pollan's 'Omnivore's Dilemma' challenges our eating habits.
By Kenneth Sutton 11.1.06

Sam Harris challenges liberal religious tolerance
Sam Harris has good news and bad news for Unitarian Universalists.
By Warren R. Ross 9.4.06

Secularism and tolerance after 9-11
Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Reza Aslan.
By Doug Muder 9.4.06

Musicians’ network offers children’s songbook
Thirty songs for children's choirs and worship services.
By Christopher L. Walton 8.21.06

From Islam to Unitarian Universalism
One woman's religious odyssey.
By Hafidha Acuay 6.12.06

Newbery winner reflects author's liberal faith
Thoughtful teen novel weaves in themes from various world religions.
By Keith Kron 6.5.06

Book introduces Unitarian Universalism to young children
Full-color illustrations will delight children and adults.
By Christopher L. Walton 5.15.06

Marriage in the nineteenth century
The complexities of women's lives in Unitarian Boston.
By John Buehrens 5.8.06

Counterculture and liberal religion
20th-century transformations of liberal religion.
By Christopher L. Walton 4.3.06

Books to honor great occasions
Four new books celebrating life's passages.
By Christopher L. Walton and Kenneth Sutton 2.15.06

Philip Simmons's wisdom
A documentary follows contributing editor Philip Simmons through his final months.
By Tom Stites 11.28.05

Do UUs have theological common ground?
Two books look for liberal religion's theological foundations.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 11.14.05

Two books see fascism in America
Davidson Loehr and Charles Derber see fascism in contemporary American politics.
By Tom Stites 11.1.05

Two new books about the urge to mend
What can we do to help?
By Victoria Safford 9.6.05

New songbook explores new music styles
A review of Singing the Journey.
By W. Frederick Wooden 8.22.05

Making sense of the conservative worldview
Two recent books can help liberals understand the Christian right.
By Doug Muder 8.1.05

The spiritual in science fiction
A Unitarian Universalist take on science fiction and fantasy.
By Will Shetterly 7.25.05

Book collects key texts in UU reverence debate
Documentary history of the 'vocabulary of reverence' debate.
By Christopher L. Walton 3.1.05

James Luther Adams's examined faith
Faith is not fundamentally about one's beliefs but about one's commitments.
By Christopher L. Walton 1.1.05

The free press and free people
Journalists are involved in something essential to the concept of free people and a functioning and sustainable democracy.
By William F. Woo 11.1.04

The pages of sin
Greed, envy, gluttony, and lust reconsidered.
By Dan Cryer 9.1.04

The wellspring of American nature writing
'Walden' remains uncannily 'addressed to our condition exactly,' 150 years after its publication.
By Richard Higgins 7.1.04

Human origins and human futures
Looking back at Darwin and ahead at genetic engineering.
By Dan Cryer 3.1.04

Science and its metaphors
How far does the authority of science go?
By Christopher L. Walton 11.1.03

The reclamation of liberalism
Comparing Fareed Zakaria and James Luther Adams.
By John Weston 9.1.03

Theodore Parker, heretical prophet
Theodore Parker did more to establish our justice-seeking heritage than anyone else.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 5.1.03

Power, religious faith, and social change
The challenge of citizen participation and the democratic process.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 3.1.03

Religious dialogue in a divided world
The urgent need for Muslim dialogue and a Jew's quest to pray with Christians and Muslims.
By Christopher L. Walton 1.1.03

An urgent encounter with Islam
A reading list in the aftermath of 9/11.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 1.1.02

Books To Note, Jan-Feb 2002
By Christopher L. Walton 1.1.02