Interfaith social-action group BREAD makes change to include nonbelievers

[cbayer]

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/faith_and_values/2014/02/21/bread-makes-change-to-encourage-nonbelievers.html

By JoAnne Viviano
The Columbus Dispatch • Friday February 21, 2014 4:32 AM

An interfaith group that has worked on social issues during the past 18 years has tweaked the wording in some of its materials to be more inclusive of people who do not believe in God.

Building Responsibility, Equality And Dignity, referred to as BREAD, made the change after members of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus requested it, said the Rev. Tim Ahrens, an immediate past co-president and senior minister at First Congregational Church United Church of Christ.

The move, Ahrens said, will help add volunteers to pursue social justice with the group’s 54 congregations. He stressed that “God” remains part of the statement because “God does matter, and God language does matter to a vast majority of our congregations.”

Gleb Tsipursky said he and some other First Unitarian Universalist Church members do not believe in a god or gods. A humanist, he believes not in a higher power but in reason and humanity.

more at link

[hrmjustin]

1. I am glad they included them.

Many volunteers at my parish's outreach programs are non-believers.

[cbayer]

2. Me, too. Very glad to see this happening more and more often, but

we really need a new nomenclature. The word "faith" needs to be replaced by something, but I don't know what.

[trotsky]

3. Why?

You have stated your belief that all types of faith are the exact same thing, and that everyone has faith in something, so why would the word bother you here?

I mean, it bothers me, sure, but that's because I recognize that religious faith has a separate meaning.

[skepticscott]

4. Only among the bigoted and religiously privileged

would such a "change" even be necessary, and it sounds like even now they've only made the effort to appear truly inclusive after quite a bit of prodding. Were they blind to it before?