From DLRE: March 5, 2021

What’s faith got to do with it? 

Since my arrival at UCE, I have been engaging many of you in conversation about your thoughts on what the term “religious education” means to you and the congregation. For most, it is the teaching of Unitarian Universalism to children. And yet it is so much more! How so, you may be asking? 

Let me count the ways… 

• We strive to teach people from all ages and stages of life, not just children and youth.
• We yearn to learn about our world and our place in it, not just about UUism. 
• We search for our truth about life’s Big Questions in community, with those who guide and challenge us along the way. “Teacher” is the common word for people who help us, but we can also say “guide”, “spirit guide”, “mentor”, “elder”, “sage”, “prophet”.  
• We want to be transformed, not just educated. 
• Faith is not a subject; it is a way of life that is to be modeled and lived – no matter what your beliefs are about the divine. 

If the above is true, then does the term “religious education” encompass all of this? In my opinion, not entirely. Other words are being used more in our denomination, such as faith formation, faith development, religious exploration, spiritual development. I personally feel drawn to faith formation though. It speaks to the growth and learning across our lifespan, that it is a process that continues as we age. I asked some colleagues to chime in on what the difference is between religious education and faith formation, and here are a few of their thoughts: 

• Religious education is teaching to model, and faith formation is a growing with the model. 
• Faith formation is deep, broad, done in community, everyone doing it. Religious education is top-down, teacher knows, and student learns (might not be mono-directional in practice). 
• Faith formation helps move us beyond reductive understanding of the word education. 
• Faith formation is lifelong and evolving, and RE is equated as being mostly “for kids”. 

We are beginning to use “faith formation” more in our language- on the website, in the newsletter, and in conversations. For some this is a moot point, and for others it is pushing buttons. I can understand the latter, as I have had some words hang me up, such as the word “church”. As I have grown in my understanding of spirituality and faith formation, I have become less sensitive to this, although I still experience it at times.  

With the creation of the Faith Formation Force, aka F3, we will be exploring with curiosity what faith formation can look and feel like at UCE as one goes through the stages of life. How do we support and encourage each other to “yearn to learn” about our faith as Unitarian Universalist and human beings? What do we need along the way? What are the best and engaging ways to do this? 

I am excited to be headed on this journey with you – transformation is a beautiful thing! 

In Faith, 

Kathy