Messages about sexuality are everywhere in our culture, from the magazines lining the shelves at the check-out line at the grocery store to suggestive dances and lyrics in music videos. News reports casually mention the latest politician or celebrity to succumb to an extramarital affair (sometimes with particularly vivid detail), while television commercials promote prescription drugs for erectile dysfunction. Even cartoons for children often feature animated drawings of extremely well-endowed female characters flirting and cajoling the male heroes.

Developing a healthy sexuality is a life-long process of forming attitudes about identity, intimacy, and relationships. It needs ...

The absence of comforting certainties in Unitarian Universalism is a particular challenge for parents when it comes to talking to our children about death. Because so many of us aren’t sure ourselves about what happens after a person dies, we have a tendency to waffle when we try to answer our children’s questions.

​I remember all-too-well the feeling of overwhelming powerlessness that threatened to ...

When we raise our children to be Unitarian Universalists, we raise them to challenge accepted “truths,” ask questions, and speak out about issues that we ourselves may choose not to face. Our faith isn’t only about affirming the inherent worth and dignity of all people; it’s also about standing up for justice and compassion. Since children and many youth have not yet developed the internal censoring mechanism that so many adults have, they are not afraid to stand up and ...

It’s not easy for anyone to be themselves in the emotionally charged social pressure cooker that is middle school. But when you are raised as a Unitarian Universalist, middle school can be an even greater challenge.

My daughter Shannon is an atheist. This is something that she has come to on her own and as a result of many factors, not the least of which was the tragic death of her best ...

Christmas and Easter are quintessential Christian holidays that most Unitarian Universalist families celebrate in their own fashion, and in a way that generally fits their theology. People who share a Jewish heritage may celebrate Hanukkah, Passover, Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashanah. Muslims have high holy days, too—particularly Eid al-Fitr, which commemorates the end of Ramadan. Hindus have a festival of light they call Divali, and many Buddhists celebrate Buddha’s birthday or the day he is believed ...

Children’s growth doesn’t usually happen neatly or smoothly. Instead, children go through what’s known as “growth spurts.” One day, your child’s favorite shirt is just too small to make it over his head. If, with great effort or force of will, you manage to get the shirt on, it’s too short and his belly is exposed. Yesterday, that shirt seemed to fit just fine; now it has to be relegated to the hand-me-down pile. For my son, these growth spurts ...

Ruth Gibson, a retired Unitarian Universalist minister, had her first theological confrontation at the age of five. As she tells it, her Catholic friend told her and her Jewish friend—in no uncertain terms—that they would burn in Hell, complete with vivid descriptions of what that would entail. Although her Jewish friend responded matter-of-factly, “I go to Temple and that’s every bit as good as church, my parents said so, so there,” Ruth was being raised unchurched and had no such ...

A friend of mine told me recently that someone in her congregation said she wasn’t sure Unitarian Universalism was really for kids. This is a rather difficult idea for me to swallow since I am actively raising my children—a seven-year-old son and a fourteen-year-old daughter—as Unitarian Universalists.

If we were merely a group of people who have rejected the faiths of their childhoods and fallen in with other ...

Although most Unitarian Universalist parents encourage their children to question and think for themselves, they also strive to pass on important values in terms of ethics and morality. However, when it comes to sharing religious beliefs with children, many parents face a dilemma. They fear indoctrinating their children, something they consider inconsistent with the very core of what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist.

The reality is that ...

Unitarian Universalism offers a different parenting experience than many other religious traditions do—and not just because of our diverse theologies. Parents raising their children in our faith frequently face situations that other parents may never encounter.

During the five years I served a congregation in the Midwest as director of religious education, and in my years since as an author and religious education consultant, I have visited many congregations to present workshops ...