What do you want to know about Religious Science? Revs. Joe and Toni Niemiec, New Thought ministers, are ready to answer your questions. Fill out the form below or .
Q. Could you elaborate upon what distinguishes between Religious Science specifically, the “New Thought” movement in general and the Unitarian movement? Though none of these fall under the Christian umbrella, are they not all continuations of the Western religious fragmentation that began with the Protestant Reformation? Will we ever defray?
A. Although the Unitarian movement began as a Christian movement, redefining Jesus as a prophet and God as a single power and releasing the concept of the trinity, the modern Unitarian Universalists have little resemblance to the initial beliefs of the 16th and 17th century Unitarians. Today, the Unitarian movement has moved away from a belief in a Universal power, and their principles are focused on self-discovery, supporting social justice within the greater community and the world, the inherent worth and dignity of every person and “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
The New Thought movement has its roots in the ancient teachings (the Vedas, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism and Christianity) as well as with Emerson (a Harvard-trained Unitarian minister) who left his post as a minister and went on, with others, to establish what is known as the Transcendentalist Movement. They completely redefined God as the very foundation of all creation versus the dualistic creation (God and the devil) of traditional Western beliefs. We believe that there is God and only God, that there is not an entity of evil nor that there is a heaven and hell outside of ourselves, and that the creative power of the universe exists in and through each and every one; we are a microcosm of the macrocosm.
Although there are many similarities in the basic principles of New Thought and Unitarian Universalism, the biggest difference is that New Thought has a belief in a creative power, universal intelligence and an unconditionally loving, ever-giving presence, which some call God. And although some of the individuals involved may have this belief, it is not a basic principle of the Unitarian Universalist movement.
The Protestant Reformation redefined the place of the church, and specifically the clergy, in the redemption of the individual and belief in Jesus. The New Thought movement has redefined God, and I am not at all sure that Martin Luther would in any way support this redefinition.
It could be argued that all “Christian or Western theology” can be dated to the separation of Jesus from the Jewish tradition, and although he never identified himself as anything other than Jewish, he admonished the leadership of the day. He opened the doors for the individual to define those parts of a tradition which they chose to adhere to and those which no longer had true value in the spiritual life of the individual.
We are unclear as to the intent of the final question, “Will we ever defray?” In what way are you using “defray” in this instance?
