Unitarian Universalists helped start Thanksgiving. Now they have second thoughts.
Most Americans see Thanksgiving as a celebration of their national roots — and few are so tied to the holiday as Unitarian Universalists.
Many of the churches established by the Pilgrims and other early colonists in New England eventually became Unitarian Universalist churches. Sarah Josepha Hale*, the woman whose 17-year campaign finally convinced Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday, was reportedly involved in Unitarian communities herself.
Yet despite those deep roots, Unitarian Universalists aren’t feeling so sure nowadays about America’s national day of turkey and stuffing.