What is a devout universal unitarian?

Question

I saw someone reply to another post saying he was a devout unitarian.

Is that possible? Seems like some kind of contradiction to me.

Answer 1

It is Unitarian Universalist. The Unitarians got top billing when we merged because they were older. Carson Kressley of "Queer Eye" got it wrong too.

A devout one would be someone who lives by the principles and purposes and whose life is a shining example of the faith's teachings, just like devout Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Muslims, Pagans and Sikhs.

In the UU case, someone who asks lots of good questions and values the worth and dignity of every person.

I help a devout UU feed the homeless once a month. His name is Bill. The first day we did it, he asked me to put the dinner rolls into a serving tray. I dumped them out. He said "Could you arrange them nicely? Presentation is important."

My first thought was that presentation might be important to ME, when I take my wife out to a fancy restaurant and expect to pay $100 a couple, but why should it be important to bums?

Then I realized they were our guests that night, even if some of them smelled bad, and I should treat them as such. I also realized that Bill lives the principle of honoring the worth and dignity of every person.

Answer 2

One could mean that they sincerely held to the humanist, open-minded religious liberalism that's at the heart of Unitarian-Universalism. Instead of holding strict beliefs about a triune God or beliefs about salvation, one could value open-mindedness and the freedom of speech necessarily for debate.