WHY UU’s AND OTHER LIBERALS ARE HARD TO UNDERSTAND

One of the foremost social scientists working on the social psychology of values discovered that people who are more traditionally progressive and those who are more traditionally conservative have two major values in common, but conservatives have additional values that compete with the two that progressives value. In our country this progressive value set is held primarily by people who are Western, educated, rich or financially comfortable, and in democracies. He gives these people the acronym WEIRD both because it fits the letters of the traits involved, but also because this group in the US and even more so around the world is a small, unusual, group. He found that a group of UU’s he tested were overwhelmingly WEIRD. What does that mean for UU’s? Is our failure to diversify our values part of the reason we are small and less diverse as a church? Should we change or should we stay WEIRD?

There will be a Town Hall between services at 10:15 am, focused on our search for a new Director of Lifespan Faith Development. Please plan to participate and give your input on the future of our religious education programs for children and adults.