to qualify as religious . . .

Transient and Permanent has an intriguing question in its post: Parents Magazine: UUism Apparently Not Religious.

The April 2009 issue of Parents Magazine has an interesting photo-essay on baby-welcoming ceremonies in various faiths. There is a Jewish one, a Korean one, etc. On page 156 they feature a Unitarian-Universalist ritual performed in Marquette, Michigan. The father explains that it was custom-designed by the parents as a celebration of the new life and to introduce the child to the church. As the article mentions, there was “a candle lighting, a rituals with water and rose petals, inspirational readings, singing by young guests, and a song written and performed for the baby by his proud dad.”

There are a couple of interesting things that this article brings up. One is the presence of baby-welcoming ceremonies in UUism.

. . .

The other thing to discuss is the way UUism is framed by the article. Because while the ritual is explicitly explained to be at a church, it is given the heading “A Secular Ceremony.” Even more interestingly, directly below it is a Roman Catholic baptism, which is headed “A Sacred Rite.” Why were these word choices made? What does this say about the presentation of Unitarian-Universalism?

It seems odd to label something secular when it takes place in a church, with ritualistic elements, strongly paralleling (though modifying) ancient Christian methods. Apparently, because the UU ritual was created for the gathering rather than being handed down from the past, or perhaps because it is UU and not Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist, this was not seen as a sacred event by the writer.

Read the entire post here.