Bree

This thread is in conjunction with <a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=55&t=000551" target="_blank">"Religious" college vs. Secular college</a> in Secular Lifestyle and Support.

What exactly is the United Church of Christ?

If anyone here was/is a United Church of Christ member, I'd really appreciate it if you would post some basic information about the group. To make a long story short, I'm thinking about attending a college that's affiliated with the group and I want to know more about what that means before I apply.

Talulah

This is NOT the church that I was raised in but I got you some info. I have researched this church before. They are very liberal and I believe they are gay/lesbian friendly and one of the first churches in America to ordain homosexuals.

<a href="http://www.ucc.org/aboutus/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.ucc.org/aboutus/index.html</a>

Opera Nut

They have no relation to the fundy no-music Church of Christ.

They are descended from the Pilgrims of England. They are extremely liberal & educated and I would call them the extreme left wing jumping off point of Christianity...any further left and you are a Unitarian.
They are also called Congregationalists. They built meeting houses in new england so everyone could see each other in a more egalitarian church setting, instead of the preacher-audience duality,(somewhat like Quakers) and were active in the anti slavery movement like the U-Us.
The Congregationalists started Harvard and Yale. Which is probably why a number of Unitarian preachers take their education at Harvard.

Corwin

An ultra liberal group that descended from the Pilgrims? (Puritans?) *scratches his head*

Oh well.... they'd already had a prime example of how NOT to behave I guess....

MrDarwin

The Puritans and Pilgrims were two different groups.

sullster

Alright, I can say something on this subject. The United Church of Christ is a holding company in a sense, which includes a bunch of New England sects. The main one is the Congregationalists and they are descendants of the witch burning Puritans who first came to Massachusetts. Huh!

How can this be? An essentially liberal sect which descended from the witch-burners? Well, you have to study the history of New England to figure it out. Essentially, the nasty past of the sect came to be an embarrassment during the Nineteenth Century. Also, the wealthy Yankee aristocracy of Boston and other cities were the predominant members. I must not forget to include lots of "swamp Yankees" too. Good WASPS, but no mollah(dollars, bucks, greenbacks, clams)-get it?

The sect was involved in the abolition(anti-slavery) movement and later the temperance movement(no booze), and even liked to educate, can you believe it?, women! Thus a liberal stream came to run there into the 20th century.

By the 1960's, the UCC was anti-segregationist, pro-women's rights, anti-Vietnam War. They soon had women ministers. Wow.

The fundy Baptists look aghast at this group and are probably appalled at their name. To their credit, the Congregationalists are not nasty hater types like the fundys but I for one still lump them in the enemy camp. Then I just find all religion ridiculous, even do gooder nice sects like the UCC.