Democracy in Our Congregations

The Fifth Principle guiding Unitarian Universalist congregations is “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”

Our commitment to the democratic process is a valuable asset to Unitarian Universalism. It makes our congregations lively places where people can find their voices and become leaders. We are called to embrace all people’s potential for leadership.

When we are serious about having a democratic process in our congregations, we share power with one another in a way that is anti-oppressive. In theory, leadership positions in Unitarian Universalist congregations are open to people regardless of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, age, and physical ability. Our ongoing struggle is to make sure we are living up to this model.

Let’s take the example of women’s leadership within Unitarian Universalism…

I think we have been particularly effective in the last several decades at encouraging the women’s leadership. Women have always been the backbone of most American congregations. But we have not always had access to the same roles and recognition as men. And in many religions, we still don’t.

In Unitarian Universalism, all lay leadership roles as well as ministerial roles are open to women. There are many opportunities for women to exercise power–as ministers, presidents of the governing board, committee chairs, and small group leaders.

I have been particularly heartened by the strong women leaders in Unitarian Universalism. In my own congregation, I am proud that this year all three of our ministers (the religious educator, the parish minister, and the intern minister) have been women.

This doesn’t mean our congregations are free of sexism. There are still men in Unitarian Universalist congregations who try to bully or harass women. Our prejudices are not magically erased when we walk into a Unitarian Universalist congregation. We carry with us some of the distorted images, ideas, and stereotypes that pervade American society at large.

Unitarian Universalists also struggle with issues of race, class, sexual orientation and other markers of social location in this country. This was disillusioning to me when I first became an active Unitarian Universalist. I was expecting that our congregations would be a progressive utopias. They are not. Unitarian Universalists struggle too with prejudice and attachment to social privilege.

But in our congregations, we can counter these ideas, and change the way we think and act. There are ongoing movements and programs to guide Unitarian Universalists in dealing with prejudice. The point of these programs is to help Unitarian Universalists better recognize our prejudices, and work against them. (One example that comes to mind is the Welcoming Congregation program.)

I am optimistic about our ability to change the way we think and act because our seven principles are a strong starting point. The commitment to the democratic process pushes us to share power with one another. We can hold one another accountable to this ideal.

Society at large is structured mostly to deny power to gays and lesbians, women, people of color, people with limited physical abilities, and low-income people. But in our own congregations, we must share power with one another. In order to push for change in society at large, we have to model justice in our own congregations.