The Once and Future Reverend

Generally, I try to avoid talking about religion. I don't enjoy it. Discussing religion, discussing God and the universe and morality and life, that I enjoy. But talking about religion...not so much.

It used to be easy to avoid, but no longer. At this point in my life, as much as I attempt to escape it, religion often comes up within the first few minutes of meeting a person, within the first few points of small talk.

"So, are you going to school?"

"Yeah, that's why I moved back to Jacksonville." (This is me trying to change the subject, trying to get them to ask about where I lived before, etc. But even if they follow my bait, the conversation still moves back to school...)


"What are you going for?"

"I'm working towards a Bachelor's degree of Psychology and Philosophy" (If I'm lucky they'll seize the opportunity to become the central figure of conversation, discussing their own knowledge of psychology and philosophy, or talking about how they studied it, or telling me all the things I could do with that as if I had never considered or heard of any of it before. But usually, the answer is simply followed by...)


"Oh, what do you plan on doing with that?"

At this point I can say, "I'm interested in doing Humanistic Therapy, but focusing on assisting people achieve self-actualization and personal fulfillment rather than simply deal with traumatic or troubling mental states or life events." There is truth in this statement, but not the whole truth. Because I have no intention of becoming a psychologist.

I am going to be a minister. The Reverend Garrett McLain. Not the therapist.

Once people hear that I am going to be a minister they often do one of two things: they either distract me in enough time to run away in the opposite direction, or they embrace me as a brother and begin quoting biblical passages I don't really care to hear. Unfortunately, it's the ones who run away with whom I have the most in common, and the ones who quote scripture whom I will likely never get through to.

But, given a chance, I get to explain myself. And my beliefs. Of course, this means talking about religion. So I've learned to boil my little church of Unity down into a bit of a nutshell. It's become so routine and rote that a couple of my closest friends can even recite portions of it.

Here's how it goes, more or less:

"Unity functions as a religion, but in practice and by the scholarly definition, it actually isn't one. Unity is more of a spiritual supplement for a pre-existent or developing faith than a religion in and of itself. Rather than focus on specific dogmatic beliefs and teachings about 'God' and the Universe, the truth of which no one can know absolutely, Unity focuses on spiritual tools and practices applicable to all people, regardless of their particular theological beliefs. While it is Christian-based, Unity looks at the Bible in a metaphorical sense, and in recognizing that no one faith has it wholly correct yet that all contain valuable wisdom, Unity sermons often also incorporate passages from the Bhagavad-gita, the Koran, or Buddhist teachings. Many people who attend Unity consider themselves Christian, but others are devout members of other faiths - I've personally known people who are devoutly Jewish, Zoroastrian, Wiccan, Catholic, and Buddhist who regularly attend Unity services as a supplement to their religious practice, and many others don't consider themselves anything at all, and are more or less just spiritual agnostics. I'm happy to discuss my personal beliefs about divinity, the universe, morality, and life after death; but these beliefs are my own, for in Unity these things are not explicitly taught. Rather than tell people what to believe, we help people come to their own answers."

It's a lengthy explanation, difficult to give without sounding like I'm preaching, and still doesn't describe what Unity does believe and teach.

But this - Unity's actual beliefs and teachings - is a point of contention even within the organization. Unity has no dogma, no set list of beliefs that one must ascribe to in order to truly be considered a Unity Student (This, btw, is what we're called - not Unitarians, they're different). What Unity does have is five basic principles, five basic statements which are the foundation upon which all Unity writings are based, and are the things which most people in Unity believe. In its continuing effort to avoid dogmatism, though, there is no official wording for the basic principles, and as such each church is free to modify it as they see fit. And in the great tradition of language, even a slight change can have dramatic effect.

For example, two versions of the First Basic Unity Principle:

1. There is One Power and One Presence active in the Universe and in my life, God the good.
versus
1. There is One Power and One Presence active as the Universe and as my life, God the good.

(Sometimes this is followed by, "omnipotent and omnipresent" or "omnipotence and omnipresence" respectively)
This slight difference has major implications.
Or even more drastically, the Third Basic Unity Principle:

3. We create our experiences by what we choose to think and believe.
versus
3. We are co-creators with God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.

These are two drastically different beliefs.

The ultimate reason I am entering ministry is simply because it is what I feel I am meant to do, that it is what the path of my life is leading me towards. Rationally, I know that the main reason I feel called to ministry is my love and pride in assisting people on their spiritual journeys and learning to live richer, more fulfilling and authentic lives. A secondary reason, however, is simply my desire to work towards helping Unity become more grounded in its teachings, to create a solid foundation upon which we can build, rather than the current freely shifting foundation that is resulting in increasingly divergent congregations and a confusion of fundamental beliefs.

And so, as much as I might not enjoy it, I talk about religion. Because I need to. Because if I don't, then nothing will change. Because if I don't, someone else will, and who knows what they'll have to say.