Lectures that engage with an ever-changing world

Often, we see statistics about religion and contemporary life. Americans are less likely to go to church, more likely to develop religious lives that pull from multiple religious traditions, and increasingly likely to marry outside of their own religious traditions or to have parents who come from more than one religious tradition. The religious “nones” are on the rise. What do all of these changes mean for how Americans actually experience their lives? What are the ramifications for our increasingly religiously diverse society? And how do these changes shape Unitarian Universalist communities and identities?

Often, we see statistics about religion and contemporary life. Americans are less likely to go to church, more likely to develop religious lives that pull from multiple religious traditions, and increasingly likely to marry outside of their own religious traditions or to have parents who come from more than one religious tradition. The religious “nones” are on the rise. What do all of these changes mean for how Americans actually experience their lives? What are the ramifications for our increasingly religiously diverse society? And how do these changes shape Unitarian Universalist communities and identities? Professor Samira K. Mehta is a scholar of religion and the politics of the American family. She is particularly interested in how families create meaning, about their practices, identities, and senses of morality and how, in turn, outside forces (religious leaders and institutions, politicians, and creators of popular culture) construct the American family through theology, legislation, and public discourse. Her first book, Beyond Chrismukkah: Christian-Jewish Interfaith Families in the United States (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, March 2018), asks these questions in terms of Christian-Jewish interfaith families from 1965 to the present. Her new project, God Bless the Pill? Contraception, Sexuality, and American Religion, considers the role of liberal religious actors in increasing women’s access to contraception in the second half of the twentieth century.

The growing number of religiously unaffiliated has many religious leaders looking for ways to innovate even as ancient traditions gain in popularity. The Great Awakenings, the Cane Ridge Revival, Azusa Street. Nowadays, millions in the United States and hundreds of millions in the larger world embrace charismatic movements, while liberal religious and post-Christian movements wither. Is “a great gulf fixed” between them, or might liberal traditions be missing something hidden in plain sight?

A television producer and parish consultant, Mr. Bowden runs Leading Congregations, the UU Growth Blog, and UUTV. He is dedicated to helping religious leaders master changing culture and technology to achieve high-impact ministries.

A television producer and parish consultant, Mr. Bowden runs Leading Congregations, the UU Growth Blog, and UUTV. He is dedicated to helping religious leaders master changing culture and technology to achieve high-impact ministries.

The biblical character of Nimrod shows us the value of perpetual rebellion, a necessary virtue for our times. Given on Friday, May 21, 2021, this was the second of three lectures in the series. For details on the series, see www.MinnsLectures.org.

The biblical character of Nimrod shows us the value of perpetual rebellion, a necessary virtue for our times. Dr. Pinn's spring 2021 lectures explore two questions — two related queries motivated in part by the rabid nationalism and marginalization of despised populations marking so much of public life in the United States. He frames them with respect to the way in which religious supporters of nationalism have buttressed their position using theological language and religious principles drawn from their reading of scripture. Mindful of this, is there a way for liberal religionists, and humanists more broadly, to read scripture so as to counter Christian justifications for national disregard and hostility? In other words, are there life lessons within scripture that support a more progressive and justice-minded agenda for personal living in community?