I've been a Unitarian Universalist for 25 years. When I found this faith, the church I joined had a wide variety of both religious and political perspectives, all of which were treated with curiosity and respect. There were lots of services for many different faiths, giving us a chance to explore different belief systems and experience wide varieties of religious services. There was representation across the spectrum for political beliefs, and there were great (and respectful) conversations about the ideas valued on all sides.

15 years ago I moved to a new town, and joined the local UU church. As I've become more involved and gotten to know the congregation more, I've found that there is less and less tolerance for anyone who doesn't align far-left on the political spectrum, and for anyone who has spiritual interests beyond humanism or kindness. This political season has been brutal. Our congregation has been all but a mouthpiece for the extreme-left, and when I brought up as much to our minister, he said that perhaps I didn't realize that I had joined a "liberal faith" and that this was probably why I felt unwelcome, and that I should consider if this was really the right place for me. He's been a UU minister for about 4 years (2 with us), and as I understand it, this is the new party line that graduating ministers are expected to carry. His belief is that UUism and the UUA in particular are fundamentally left and focused more on social justice rather than spirituality. He (and many in the church) don't seem to care about the fact that we've lost good people because they've been made to feel uncomfortable and there are more of us who are debating leaving for somewhere more tolerant.

I've done some reading online, and it's clear that there are still those who hold to the bipartisan curiosity and valuing of diversity of perspective. I'm very interested finding other UUs who aren't as exclusively-left-aligned as what's being broadcast these days. I've heard there are online groups that aim to keep our organization more bipartisan and diverse. Has anyone heard of any groups like this? Or have things changed to the point where there really isn't tolerance now for anyone who's not aligned with the extreme left?

I've been a Unitarian Universalist for 25 years. When I found this faith, the church I joined had a wide variety of both religious and political perspectives, all of which were treated with curiosity and respect. There were lots of services for many different faiths, giving us a chance to explore different belief systems and experience wide varieties of religious services. There was representation across the spectrum for political beliefs, and there were great (and respectful) conversations about the ideas valued on all sides.

15 years ago I moved to a new town, and joined the local UU church. As I've become more involved and gotten to know the congregation more, I've found that there is less and less tolerance for anyone who doesn't align far-left on the political spectrum, and for anyone who has spiritual interests beyond humanism or kindness. This political season has been brutal. Our congregation has been all but a mouthpiece for the extreme-left, and when I brought up as much to our minister, he said that perhaps I didn't realize that I had joined a "liberal faith" and that this was probably why I felt unwelcome, and that I should consider if this was really the right place for me. He's been a UU minister for about 4 years (2 with us), and as I understand it, this is the new party line that graduating ministers are expected to carry. His belief is that UUism and the UUA in particular are fundamentally left and focused more on social justice rather than spirituality. He (and many in the church) don't seem to care about the fact that we've lost good people because they've been made to feel uncomfortable and there are more of us who are debating leaving for somewhere more tolerant.

I've done some reading online, and it's clear that there are still those who hold to the bipartisan curiosity and valuing of diversity of perspective. I'm very interested finding other UUs who aren't as exclusively-left-aligned as what's being broadcast these days. I've heard there are online groups that aim to keep our organization more bipartisan and diverse. Has anyone heard of any groups like this? Or have things changed to the point where there really isn't tolerance now for anyone who's not aligned with the extreme left?