Unitarian Universalist congregations have a good percentage of former Roman Catholics, especially in the northeast and other heavily Catholic areas of the United States. The resources on this page are for Unitarian Universalists who left Roman Catholicism. Some are helpful in seeing a more liberal Christian theology. Some are helpful in understanding theological differences between traditional Catholic (and Christian) doctrine. Some are helpful in understanding what the Bible from a historical, sociological, and literary perspective. Some are helpful in understanding the basic of Unitarian Universalism. Please feel free to use these resources for helping former Catholics process their journey from Catholicism into Unitarian Universalism.
The basic difference in theological approach between traditional Christian doctrine and Liberal Religion:
Listen to “The Grace Scale and Emergent Universalism” – a sermon in which Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the “Grace Scale”, a sociological tool developed by the late Catholic priest, sociologist, and novelist Andrew Greeley that demonstrated strong positive correlations between people’s image of God and world view, cultural attitudes, and political preferences. Rev. Tony suggests Unitarian Universalism is helping to generate a more grace filled religious landscape and perhaps even a more grace-ful God. Read/Download a PDF of the sermon here.
Read/Download Rev. Tony Lorenzen’s four-part course on The Trinity for Unitarians here.
A READING LIST FOR Ex-Catholics who are Unitarian Universalists
RECOVERING JESUS & THE BIBLE
- Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg
- Christ for Unitarian Universalists: A New Dialogue with Traditional Christianity by Scott McLennan
- Reading the Bible Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg
- Understanding The Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals by John A. Buehrens
RECOVERING FROM CHRISTIAN (including CATHOLIC) TEACHING
- Shameless: A Case for Not Feeling Bad for Feeling Good About Sex by Nadia Bolz-Weber
- If God Is Love: Rediscovering Grace in an Ungracious World by Philip Gulley, James Mulholland
- If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person by Philip Gulley, James Mulholland
- If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus by Philip Gulley
- Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus’s Words by Neil Douglas Klotz
- Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans
UU THEOLOGY
- The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide : 6th Ed., Edited by: Susan Frederick-Gray
- Faith Without Certainty: Liberal Theology in the 21st Century by Paul Rasor
- The Essential James Luther Adams: Selected Essays and Addresses, George Kimmel Beach, Ed.
- Three Prophets of Religious Liberalism: Channing, Emerson, Parker by Conrad Wright
UU HISTORY
- Vatican II and the New England Way by Joseph A. Bassett, 1980 Minns Lecture (copy available to borrow from the UU Church in Meriden)
- Universalists and Unitarians in America: A People’s History by John Buehrens
- Unitarian Universalism: A Narrative History by David Bumbaugh