This sermon was presented at Stevens Chapel on October 7, 2001 by Rev. Dr. Judith Campbell.

Some of My Best Friends Are Conservatives

Some of my best friends consider themselves to be politically conservative. Do you know what…I don’t apologize to them or for having them. Some of them even claim to be Unitarian Universalists, and neither they nor I consider that to be an oxymoron. I don’t know when the word "conservative" became politically incorrect in our denomination, but it many camps it has, and I for one, don’t like it…or any other way of thinking for that matter which labels something and then dismisses it as…"not the way we do things…". One would think that that kind of thinking would go against the very fibre of our faith, and yet,when we hear the words, "fundamentalist"….or revival….or Pentecostal…socialist or …. conservative, with a big or a small "C", I can hear minds snapping shut all over the place, effectively eliminating any possibility of dialogue or intellectual exchange. That’s not what we are supposed to be about. But for too many, our so-called liberal dialogue is limited to liberal causes, and those people and institutions with which we agree….all others need not apply….end of discussion!

I wonder how many Unitarian Universalists realize a large part of our "Liberal" religion is founded upon what we would call (are, in fact, considered to be) conservative principles and precepts. The founders of this nation …this American way which we are now defending against terrorists….were very concerned with equality and individual rights and individual representation. The fact that the word "individual" did not include women, people of color or native Americans is a dark chapter in our history which continues, but we are working on it…and that is good.

In the early days of our proud nation the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the individual to free speech and free enterprise were what set us apart from so many other nations. The fact that a person here was not limited by the circumstances of birth and social standing; helped or possibly hindered certainly, but not limited. It is the very fiber of the American dream. Politically speaking, Conservative thinking with a big "C" values the traditional, favors private enterprise, prefers that the federal government deal with national issues, and leave state government to the individual states, and is considered to be resistant to change. But when change is inevitable, the conservative moves forward cautiously. Liberal thinkers would believe themselves to be more open to change, would see a greater responsibility for social welfare to be at the federal level and in my experience …and often….can’t take a joke!

In America, the Republican Party is seen as the Conservative wing of the great American eagle and the Democratic Party is seen as the liberal wing. This is not news. In reality, there are so many flavors and shades of Republicans and Democrats these days, especially in that middle ground between the two parties, there is a huge area of overlap between the liberal republicans and the Conservative Democrats. But don’t tell them that! Political differences are part of what make us who we are. With the advent of the terrorist attack, those lines have all but disappeared in our united front against the terrorist threat…but we can trust, once the heat is off…the two will again mark off their respective territories.

In Religion it is no different. Ours is considered to be a liberal religion. More conservative denominations hold tightly to their traditions, are slow to change, and are often more bureaucratic in governance employing a "top-down" form of administration. When change does occur, it is slow, painful and even occasionally violent. And when that change or those changes eventually become the new norm, it is not at all uncommon to have a reactionary movement within the denomination of people who want to return to the old ways…come hell or high water. There are isolated cells of Roman Catholic reactionaries who are still saying the Mass in Latin, and Ultra-Conservative Jews who have returned to an almost fanatic observance of the law, and in Islam, fanatic fundamentalists have created a religion that bears none of the tolerance and mercy of the words of Allah as presented in the Koran.

But even within our liberal hallowed halls, there is a conservative movement which is calling for a return to the theistic and deistic UNITARIAN VALUES and beliefs that were the foundation of the original Unitarian manifesto….before we merged with the Universalists. And there is another group which I call neo-Universalists, calling for a new UNIVERSALIST awareness within the denomination. I have much more sympathy with that group because I feel that our second name and the history and theology which it brings to our denomination is often overlooked. By the way, I plan to have a speaker from that group come and visit us some time in the future. They are not reactionary, they are about awareness. But, in the long run I find it hard to get my brain around the idea of a conservative Unitarian or Universalist….but that is exactly what I want to address. There is a piece of me that wants to have a typically liberal anti-conservative knee-jerk reaction to the word and idea of conservatism and conservative thinking. AND THAT…boys and girls….IS WRONG!!!!

Several months ago, there was a big flap in the newspapers about the great schism happening in Unitarian Universalism. In reality, the UUA told the conservative group, which was and still is calling itself the AUA, the American Unitarian Association, to get another name! The AUA technically already existed, and this upstart group of neo-conservatives, needed to find another title for their organization. Well, the AUA said "no"…and the paper began to fly. The AUA is based in Virginia, and they are in fact a small group with an ax to grind! And I was prepared to hate them for attempting to drive a wedge into our 40 year organization which has worked so hard at having common principles and purposes! But in reading some of their material, I actually learned a little more about the history of the denomination at the time of the Unitarian split from New England Congregationalism…and that was a good thing.

In going still deeper into their message, I came face to face with something that bothers me about our denomination….and that is what I shall refer to as our "God" phobia. Now don’t get me wrong…or start worrying….I haven’t changed my own personal theology very much since when you hired me and I am not going to start espousing a more theistic and less universal approach to our Sunday morning services and our present inclusive practices, but I am aware of an attitude…a stiffening of the spine …and a setting of the jaw, in our denomination which when "God"…or even worse, "Jesus" is mentioned in anything other than a literary or historic context.

You need to understand I have no quarrel with the humanist or agnostic points of view, but I claim the right to mine, and the UU Christian’s right to hers/his without apology. But you all know, I can refer to Allah, or Yahweh or Kali or Shiva without recrimination, but let me use the word God too many times, and I start to get phone calls….or the committee on ministry will! I have one colleague who was told flat-out not to use the word God on Sunday mornings in the pulpit! Where does that leave our cherished tradition of the "Free pulpit" …which is a direct descendant of the originally conservative principle of the individual’s right to free speech?

Two weeks ago, I was an invited speaker at the peace rally which was held at 5 Corners in Vineyard Haven. By request, Alden Besse and I deliberately wore our clerical garb as a means of showing clergy support and identification. Those of you who were there will remember a heckler with an Australian accent, calling for all-out war against just about everything middle eastern, but especially against Bin-laden and all of Afghanistan. When he finally was allowed to speak, several people started to heckle him and drown him out. I was outraged, and almost jumped back up on the platform to defend his right to speak his mind as well even though I heartily disagreed with his point of view. Gratefully, I didn’t have to, because the hecklers were silenced…and the man had his say.

As it turns out, our Government is moving forward far more slowly and cautiously than many of us originally had feared it might, and President Bush, after some initial verbal blunders, in my opinion, is doing as fine a job as he or anyone possibly could do in such a murky and potentially volatile situation. I did not vote for him, but I really don’t think the other candidate….what was his name now….could have done any better. I am pleased to note that "Knee-jerk" Bush criticism is at an all time low just now….and if there was ever a time to stand united behind our President and our government…I believe it is now. He is taking a small "C" conservative approach…when in reality…it is the capital "C" conservatives who would have him take a more militarily aggressive approach….go figure!

This sermon is not really about conservatives and conservative thinking versus Liberals and Liberal thinking….it is about jumping to conclusions without thinking and without enough evidence. And it is something we can very easily do if we are not careful. We are supposed to be the church of the open mind…but if we fall prey to our knee jerk reactions when it comes to political or religious conservatives before we hear them out, we may be missing out on an opportunity to learn more about an issue….and even….God forbid, change our mind about something. There is much more overlap between the two points of view than we want to think about ….and perhaps it’s time we did.

As I said earlier, the free speech and free enterprise, and the principles of self-government which we value so highly as a nation and as a denomination are in reality the core ideas of the Declaration of Independence, our US Constitution, and the founding statement of the United Nations…as well as the philosophical foundation of our church. They were considered radical by the ruling establishments of state and church when they were first espoused and finally adopted….and now…they are considered the "OLD" American values to which we must return…and now…must defend. Its all a matter of perspective. And that is what we must ever strive to keep before us….a sense of perspective…especially when our little knees want to jerk without thinking. It is not going to be as easy as we think….but if we are going to live out what we proclaim to be our religious and humanist and ethical and spiritual way of life, there is no time like the present to begin. Amen/Blessed be.