25th Anniversary Web Edition originally published in August 1981 as Owning Your Religious Past: The Haunting Church

Why Owning Your Religious Past?

The majority of Unitarian Universalists come into the denomination from other religions; often there have been several stops along the path into our congregations. Some bring with them angry and unresolved feelings about experiences in other religious institutions, others have warm memories. Some move easily into an identity as a Unitarian Universalist; others experience a traumatic estrangement from family and from the center of their culture.

Our churches and fellowships have frequently neglected to understand and acknowledge the widely varying needs of members regarding this process. We can be most fully and completely present in our religious identity when we see our path as a continuum rather than a series of unrelated episodes. People who feel whole in this identity are more likely to make solid, healthy commitments to religious communities. Because we are usually more certain of what we left in another religion than what we bring forward from it, some tools are needed by which people may establish connections, bridges, and resonances between past and present. Such activity also provides clues about the possible future direction of those paths.

This workshop is not just for “converts.” Longtime and life-long Unitarian Universalists also experience change, sometimes profoundly, in their religious identity. This workshop is enriched by the participation of people of varying tenure as Unitarian Universalists.

Description

This workshop provides some simple tools through which people may reexamine and retrieve positive aspects of past religious connections. It addresses the affective elements of these connections, rather than dogma. The workshop is designed to provide both group sharing and private exploration, using journal writing exercises. It consists of five separate sessions, which can be conducted individually or grouped in a retreat.

• Workshop One: Personal Religious Timeline
• Workshop Two: The Haunting House of Worship
• Workshop Three: An Exercise of Reconciliation
• Workshop Four: Claiming the Positives
• Workshop Five: Conclusion and Worship

Download Owning Your Religious Past (PDF)