Reflection #127 (5th July 2026 at Essex Church / Kensington Unitarians)
‘Freedom, Reason, and Tolerance’ – this is a phrase that has historically been an important statement of our core Unitarian values – perhaps we don’t use it quite so much these days. Since I first stumbled into the church 27 years ago I’ve noticed that we’ve softened our view on reason a bit, acknowledging that there are other sources of wisdom and insight that transcend the rational, and which may be found through emotion, intuition, and direct experience. We’re not just a religion of the head. And that traditional emphasis on ‘tolerance’ has been questioned a bit too – it can feel a bit grudging – it sounds like ‘putting up with’. We’ve moved towards the language of ‘celebrating’ and ‘affirming’ when it comes to our relationship with difference, be that religious and theological diversity, or other dimensions of culture and identity.
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