My "Classic Movie" Personality Test Results

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

"Sunday School for Atheists" and UU Religious Education - Similar and Different??

For anyone who is interested in Unitarian Universalist religious education, this article from Time Magazine is worth reading:

Sunday School for Atheists

Here are two quotes from this article:

"An estimated 14% of Americans profess to have no religion, and among 18-to-25-year-olds, the proportion rises to 20%, according to the Institute for Humanist Studies. The lives of these young people would be much easier, adult nonbelievers say, if they learned at an early age how to respond to the God-fearing majority in the U.S. 'It's important for kids not to look weird,' says Peter Bishop, who leads the preteen class at the Humanist center in Palo Alto. Others say the weekly instruction supports their position that it's O.K. to not believe in God and gives them a place to reinforce the morals and values they want their children to have."

****

"The Palo Alto [Humanist Community Center] Sunday family program uses music, art and discussion to encourage personal expression, intellectual curiosity and collaboration. One Sunday this fall found a dozen children up to age 6 and several parents playing percussion instruments and singing empowering anthems like 'I'm Unique and Unrepeatable,' set to the tune of 'Ten Little Indians,' instead of traditional Sunday-school songs like 'Jesus Loves Me.' Rather than listen to a Bible story, the class read "Stone Soup," a secular parable of a traveler who feeds a village by making a stew using one ingredient from each home."

This sounds a lot like what we would present in a Unitarian Universalist religious education program for our children.

I'm curious why a group would need to create a Sunday School program that sounds so much like a Unitarian Universalist one in a community where a Unitarian Universalist congregation already exists.

Given that the "Atheist - Agnostic - Unchurched" demographic is a growing in North America and Christianity is shrinking in North America, does it make sense for Unitarian Universalists to package ourselves as a "church"?

Does the use of traditional language of reverence in our congregations drive off this growing demographic group?

Does the use of the word "church" in the name of many of our congregations drive off this growing demographic group?

This growing demographic is a natural one for us and it was our "market niche" in the past. What will Unitarian Universalism look like if we forfeit this portion of the religious marketplace?

Blog Reading Level -- You've Gotta Be Kidding Me

UPDATE: this so-called reading level test is a way for a blogger to unknowingly increase the search rating for a cash payday loan company.

If you put this badge on your blog, you should remove the ALT tags for the payday loan company from the HTML code before uploading this badge on one's blog or web site.

Hat tip to CK of arbitrarymarks.com for mentioning this potential blog spam issue.


I saw this blog reading level test on the "A Perfect World" blog:



The result for my blog makes me question the quiz technology. I'm a very simple and ordinary person.

Another Resource For Sharing Microsoft Office 2007 Documents

Here is yet another resource for dealing with the newly introduced "incompatible" file formats in Microsoft Office 2007 (see this link and this link for earlier resources mentioned on this blog for helping volunteers and church staff who don't have Microsoft Office 2007 but want to use Office 2007 documents).

For anyone using Ubuntu 7.10 ("Gutsy Gibbon") release of Linux along with the optional Automatix software for this Ubuntu release, one can easily use the import/export filters in Open Office that read the new Microsoft Office file formats.

This would be useful for churches and other cash-strapped non-profit organizations that may be using older donated computers and open source software but also need to share data with volunteers (who may be using the latest version of Microsoft Office on a spiffy new computer).

Yes -- it's possible to ask a volunteer to save a document in a compatible file format (the older Microsoft Word .doc file format, .rtf rich text format, etc). However, this new addition to the Ubuntu - Open Office environment will make life easier for the volunteers and staff with the older computers. And when newsletter and other deadlines are fast approaching, this will be helpful.

[Note: Wikipedia describes Automatix as a "tool that automates the addition of applications, codecs, fonts and libraries not provided directly by the software repositories of Debian-based distributions (specifically Debian, MEPIS and Ubuntu).]

Religious scholars mull Flying Spaghetti Monster (CNN)

For every Unitarian Universalist who worries that we are not "religious" enough to be considered a real religion, check out the CNN.com coverage of the American Academy of Religion conference in the "Religious scholars mull Flying Spaghetti Monster" article (more info on the Flying Spaghetti Monster can be found here).

Here's a brief quote from the article:

It was the emergence of this community that attracted the attention of three young scholars at the University of Florida who study religion in popular culture. They got to talking, and eventually managed to get a panel on FSM-ism on the agenda at one of the field's most prestigious gatherings.

The title: "Evolutionary Controversy and a Side of Pasta: The Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Subversive Function of Religious Parody."

"For a lot of people they're just sort of fun responses to religion, or fun responses to organized religion. But I think it raises real questions about how people approach religion in their lives," said Samuel Snyder, one of the three Florida graduate students who will give talks at the meeting next Monday along with Alyssa Beall of Syracuse University.

The presenters' titles seem almost a parody themselves of academic jargon. Snyder will speak about "Holy Pasta and Authentic Sauce: The Flying Spaghetti Monster's Messy Implications for Theorizing Religion," while Gavin Van Horn's presentation is titled "Noodling around with Religion: Carnival Play, Monstrous Humor, and the Noodly Master."

Using a framework developed by literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin, Van Horn promises in his abstract to explore how, "in a carnivalesque fashion, the Flying Spaghetti Monster elevates the low (the bodily, the material, the inorganic) to bring down the high (the sacred, the religiously dogmatic, the culturally authoritative)."

The authors recognize the topic is a little light by the standards of the American Academy of Religion.

"You have to keep a sense of humor when you're studying religion, especially in graduate school," Van Horn said in a recent telephone interview. "Otherwise you'll sink into depression pretty quickly."

But they also insist it's more than a joke.

Indeed, the tale of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and its followers cuts to the heart of the one of the thorniest questions in religious studies: What defines a religion? Does it require a genuine theological belief? Or simply a set of rituals and a community joining together as a way of signaling their cultural alliances to others?

In short, is an anti-religion like Flying Spaghetti Monsterism actually a religion?

Joining them on the panel will be David Chidester, a prominent and controversial academic at the University of Cape Town in South Africa who is interested in precisely such questions. He has urged scholars looking for insights into the place of religion in culture and psychology to explore a wider range of human activities. Examples include cheering for sports teams, joining Tupperware groups and the growing phenomenon of Internet-based religions. His 2005 book "Authentic Fakes: Religion and American Popular Culture," prompted wide debate about how far into popular culture religious studies scholars should venture.

New Hotel Trend -- Gideon Bible Out, Condoms and "Intimacy Kits" In

The "So Long, Gideons" article on the Newsweek web site mentions a religious and ethical shift.

Gideon Bible placement in hotel rooms is declining.

In part, this is due to a recognition that we are not an exclusively Christian nation:

Unlike traditional hotels, the 10-year-old boutique [Soho Grand Hotel] has never put Bibles in its guest rooms, because "society evolves," says hotel spokeswoman Lori DeBlois. Providing Bibles would mean the hotel "would have to take care of every guest's belief."

This isn't just a "blue state" New York City development:

Since 2001 the number of luxury hotels with religious materials in the rooms has dropped by 18 percent, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

What has been added to hotel rooms recently:

Edgier chains like the W provide "intimacy kits" with condoms in the minibar, while New York's Mercer Hotel supplies a free condom in each bathroom. Neither has Bibles. Since its recent renovation, the Sofitel L.A. offers a tantalizing lovers' dice game: roll one die for the action to be performed (for example, "kiss," "lick") and the other for the associated body part. The hotel's "mile high" kit, sold in the revamped gift shop, includes a condom, a mini vibrator, a feather tickler and lubricant. The new Indigo hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., a "branded boutique" launched by InterContinental, also has no Bibles, but it does offer a "One Night Stand" package for guests seeking VIP treatment at local nightclubs and late checkout for the hazy morning after.

[Hat tip to the Friendly Atheist Blog for this article.]

A Funny and Engaging Our Whole Lives-Related Video Podcast Resource

The Midwest Teen Sex Show is a great sexuality education resource that I discovered through Susie Bright's blog.

It's a video podcast that discusses teen sexuality in funny, frank, and responsible ways.

Here's a brief explanation from their web site:

Why a show on teen sexuality?

Teens and sex. It happens. Not every teen is having sex and not every teen is abstaining. We hope the Midwest Teen Sex Show will create a space for frank discussion of all things related to teen sexuality. Broadcast media shies away from any real exploration of the topic, and they forget that not all teens live in Orange County. So subscribe on iTunes, download our latest episode, tell your friends, and let’s get it on! (Midwest style).

Is this sex education?

Sort of–we like to call it sex information. We’ll leave the formal education to classrooms and textbooks. The Midwest Teen Sex Show is here to provide sex information in a clear and entertaining way. We won’t pretend to be experts, but hopefully a few of our own embarrassing experiences and insights will keep you out of trouble.

Are you promoting teen sex?

No! We’re promoting a discussion of teen sex.

Useful Tidbits From A Free Computer Trade Publication

Computerworld magazine is one of the "free" trade magazines that I get at work. I was cleaning off my desk and found some useful resources in the back issues I had collected.

• Linux Command-Line Cheat Sheet
• Portable Devices Pose Growing IT Security Threat (A church member's privacy could be violated through use of a USB thumb drive)
• Linux Text Editors (personally, I'm OK with the "standard" gedit text editor that comes with the Gnome desktop -- I use for editing my church's podcast RSS feed)
• Ten Claims That Scare Security Pros
• Ten Lousy Pieces of Security Advice
• Eight Most Dangerous Consumer Technologies (A church member's privacy could be violated through use of a USB thumb drive, cell phone camera, etc -- I'm sure it would be easy to do this in most congregations with personal data such as pledging information)
• Moving From Windows to Linux
• Blogger Beware! The Legal Risks of Corporate Blogging (these risks could even affect the churches of ministers and other religious professionals who blog under pseudonyms)
• Mac Email Showdown (personally, I'm OK with the "standard" Mail program that comes with Mac OS X)
• FAQ: Getting Ready to Leap to Leopard (useful to me because I've been asked by our minister to help her install Mac OS X 10.5 on her Macbook)

Good luck using these computer resources in your congregation and other Unitarian Universalist settings.

Quiz: What kind of Christian are you?

I retook the "What kind of Christian are you?" Beliefnet quiz again tonight.

My score (105 on a scale of 0 to 400) is slightly different from the first time that I took this quiz, but the category result remained unchanged.

Apparently, I'm still a "Bishop Spong Christian" -- here's a breakdown for the scale used in this quiz:

• 0 - 59 -- You are a Jesse Ventura Christian (a.k.a. a "Secularist" or non-Christian)
• 60 - 149 -- You are a Bishop Spong Christian (a.k.a. "Biblical Revisionist")
• 150 - 249 -- You are a Hillary Rodham Clinton Christian (a.k.a. "Left-Leaning Traditionalist")
• 250 - 329 -- You are a George Bush Sr. Christian (a.k.a. "Right-Leaning Traditionalist")
• 330 - 400 -- You are a Jerry Falwell Christian (a.k.a "Historicist")

I think my result comes from reading too much Jesus Seminar, John Dominic Crossan, Bishop Spong, etc -- I don't believe in God and no quiz answer I gave required my belief in the divine.

Yet somehow I'm considered a "Bishop Spong" Christian even though I don't believe in what most Christians traditionally believe about God, Jesus, his birth, his death, etc -- very puzzling.

I wonder what result other Unitarian Universalists would get on this quiz.

Eschatology Quiz Results

Here's my quiz results ...

What's your eschatology? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Moltmannian Eschatology Jürgen Moltmann is one of the key eschatological thinkers of the 20th Century. Eschatology is not only about heaven and hell, but God's plan to make all things new. This should spur us on to political and social action in the present. Moltmannian Eschatology 75% Amillenialist 75% Preterist 50% Dispensationalist 25% Premillenialist 0% Left Behind 0% Postmillenialist 0%

Just imagine the remake of Mr. Ed ...

With the recent "reboots" of old TV sci-fi franchises like Battlestar Galactica and Bionic Woman, I'm wondering what old TV series will be made over next.

Will they make a "reboot" of Mister Ed where the ethical issues of recombinant DNA experiments using horse and human DNA are explored through science fiction?

"Gangs of America"

The Unitarian Universalist Association has criticized the legal fiction of "corporate personhood" as part of its social and economic justice work. Some of this was covered in the May/June 2003 issue of UU World.

• "Government for Whom?" by Tom Stites
• "Corporations 1, Citizens 0" by David Wolman and Heather Wax
• "Communities Fight Back" by Jane Greer
• "A Prodemocracy Visionary" by Kimberly French

Another non-UU resource related to this issue is the book Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy by Peachpit Press founder Ted Nace. You can download this book free from the author's website as a free Adobe Acrobat PDF.

[Hat tip to Glenn Fleishman of the Tidbits Macintosh news web site for pointing out this resource.]

Red State Update Responds to the "Jena Six" Case

Hatred found in online comments shocking (Shreveport Times Letter to the Editor)

Today, The Shreveport Times published my letter about the racist online comments from the newspaper readers in response the the recent "Jena Six" coverage.

I'm reprinting it for you below.

On Sept. 16, my church hosted a prayer worship service in support of the six black youths accused of crimes in Jena. I read the news coverage about this story ("Religious groups unite, pray for Jena Six," Sept. 17). I read the online reader comments and I was shocked at the level of hatred and racist invective. Here are a few sample quotes that were found on the shreveporttimes.com web site:

• "Everywhere Black people integrate, crime and deterioration and hate sets in. Integration is the problem with our schools." (written by the anonymous author "CHILIDOG")
• "Let's see, how do we start this prayer? Oh God let us pray for these kids that are only black, because we don't care about the white kid that they tried to kill. Now God it is off to the next place where we can help only blacks that is why we call ourselves the Rainbow Coalition." (written by the anonymous author "Creekdweller")

I also read about the upcoming prayer service ("Community Briefly: Church holding rally today to support 'Jena Six,'" Sept. 15). This article also elicited racism and hatred from our community in the online reader comments.

This story's comments also contain some ignorant religious bigotry directed towards my Unitarian Universalist faith as well.

I'm in favor of free speech even when it's racist and religious bigotry like the examples cited above. I would never want to see expression banned even though it hurts our community both morally and economically. Ask yourself: What would a business leader think about Shreveport after reading these comments online?

I also question the tacit endorsement of The Times and Gannett in publishing these comments online on the shreveporttimes.com Web site.

I disagree with The Times policy of allowing bigots to hide behind anonymous screen names. I suspect those who post anonymous hatred online would not if their real identity were attached to their comments.

"Jena Six" Photo Diary (Part I)

Here's a collection of photographs from the Shreveport Times and from my cell phone camera.

The entire gallery of Shreveport Times photos showing local church members departing early on Thursday morning can be found online in the online collection "Leaving for Jena."

(Members of All Souls Shreveport waiting to get on the bus - 20 September 2007, from the Shreveport Times)

(Daniel and Ashley modeling the event t-shirts provided by our minister - 20 September 2007, from the Shreveport Times)

(On the right in the red polo shirt, Len Frank, member of Steeple Chase Baptist Church and retired GM employee who sat across the bus aisle from me - 20 September 2007, from the Shreveport Times)

(On the left in the clerical shirt, Rev. Eliza Galagher, minister of Wildflower Unitarian Universalist Church, Austin TX - 20 September 2007, from the Shreveport Times)

(On the left in the "Justice for Jena" t-shirt, Rev. Lyn Oglesby, minister of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, Shreveport LA - 20 September 2007, from the Shreveport Times)

(I'm holding a pillow and rushing to catch the bus - 20 September 2007, from the Shreveport Times)

(View from my bus window while stopped in Pineville LA - photo provided by Steve Caldwell, 20 September 2007)

(View of charter buses stopped on the roadside in Pineville LA - photo provided by Steve Caldwell, 20 September 2007)

(View of charter buses stopped on the roadside in Pineville LA - photo provided by Steve Caldwell, 20 September 2007)

(View from the crowd in Jena LA - photo provided by Steve Caldwell, 20 September 2007)

(View from the crowd in Jena LA - photo provided by Steve Caldwell, 20 September 2007)

(View from the crowd in Jena LA - photo provided by Steve Caldwell, 20 September 2007)

I really need to get a digital camera for documenting things like this.

"I wish we had a charge in Louisiana for aggravated ignorance"

This story was briefly reported in the Shreveport Times today:

"And Thursday night, police in nearby Alexandria arrested two people after they stopped a red pickup that was traveling through the city with nooses hanging from it.

'I wish we had a charge in Louisiana for aggravated ignorance, because this is a classic case,' Alexandria police Sgt. Clifford Gatlin said of the incident in his city the same day rallies in support of the Jena Six — the name given to six black teenagers charged in a December incident that left a white teen unconscious and bleeding — were held in Jena. Some supporters used Alexandria as a staging area for the march on Jena."

Initial Comments After "Jena Six" March

On Thursday (20 September 2007), two buses full of people representing three congregations traveled from Shreveport, Louisiana to Jena, Louisiana to participate in the 20 September 2007 National Day of Action to support the "Jena Six" defendants. These congregations were Evergreen Baptist Church, Steeple Chase Baptist Church, and All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church.

As part of this group, we had 3 Unitarian Universalist ministers traveling with us (Rev. Lyn Oglesby - All Souls Shreveport, Rev. Fred Hammond - UU Jackson MS, and Rev. Eliza Galaher - Wildflower UU Austin TX). We also had several laypeople from All Souls Shreveport who also traveled to Jena as well.

After catching this bus at 5 AM, I'm still a bit tired from the trip and walking around Jena.

The crowd in Jena was huge yesterday. The Shreveport Times was estimating as many as 60,000 people were at the event.

As we exited I-49 in Alexandria towards Jena, there was a traffic jam of chartered buses headed towards Jena. As we drove through Pineville, the local and state law enforcement folks had a large group of charter buses pull over. They were planning on having us go into Jena as a bus caravan.

While waiting by the roadside, I saw dozens of buses waiting for the last leg of this trip into Jena.

Just before getting off the bus, one of Baptist ministers led us in a prayer where he quoted Amos' words that are used in the familiar hymn "Come Build A Land."

We got off the bus just outside Jena near their Wal-Mart and walked into town.

The only retail business that I saw as open for business was Wal-Mart (the only event that Wal-Mart would close for is Jesus' birthday every December). The rest of the local businesses in Jena were closed and many of them had yellow plastic "crime scene" tape and "no tresspassing" signs marking their property boundaries.

A group was "passing the hat" to raise the bail money for Mychel Bell -- they raised over $17,000 of the required $10,000 bail bond to get the remaining Jena Six defendant out of jail (Mychel's bail was set at $90,000). This money was given to Mychel's grandmother and Mychel should be out of jail as he is re-tried as a minor for the incident real soon. Mychel has been in jail since last December -- he's served over 8 months in the parish jail for a schoolyard fight.

We wandered around some more and found that folks wanted to photograph and interview us. Susan said that she hadn't been photographed this much in one day since our wedding. The All Souls members were wearing cream-colored t-shirts that said "Justice for Jena" on the front and had our church name on the back. Susan said that one person thanked her for being there because it meant that our black neighbors were not alone in protesting the racial and class injustice in the Louisiana legal system.

One very puzzling thing in Jena for me was the lack of trash cans for our trash. After finishing a bottle of water, I had to search behind a closed business for a trash can to dispose of my trash. I kept the rest of my lunch trash in my backpack. But it was very puzzling -- if tens of thousands were visiting my town, it would make sense to have trash cans for our trash.

I've already seen a few conservative critics complain on the Shreveport Times web site reader comments about the trash left by the crowd. I expect that some Jena residents are going to complain about the costs of the cleanup. But there were no trash cans on the sidewalks or other public spaces in Jena. I'm not in favor of littering but I realize that the backpacker "pack it in, pack it out" ethic is not a universal one especially in populated areas. The post-event litter is partly the responsibility of the town that didn't provide trash cans for this event.

I've got some pictures from my cell phone camera (I really need to get a digital camera) and from the local paper for this event. I will also get some digital photographs from church members as well. The photo diary on this blog will happen later.

The "Old South" Is Not Dead -- Shreveport Times Reader Responses to the "Jena Six" Rally

Tonight, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana hosted an interfaith rally and prayer service in support of the "Jena Six" youth. Here's the article about this rally from The Shreveport Times:

"Several local religious groups will hold a prayer service and rally to support the 'Jena Six' at 6 p.m. today at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road.

The Rev. Aaron Dobynes, pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church, will speak, along with local attorney Henry Walker. It is hosted by All Souls and Northern/Central Louisiana Interfaith.

They are seeking justice for six black high school students who were charged with attempted murder in connection with the beating of a white student."

The Shreveport Times allows for reader comment on news stories and even allows for anonymous comments. Here are two anonymous comments on the news story about our church:

dr duke -- "this darn church, and many like it, would rally for the jena thug 6 even it they had killed the white boy...but they call themselves "christian" and not racist.....hypocrisy knows no bounds.... no rally is needed - the two mlk jr wannabes are in control of the situation - unforunately for jena...."

Phalanx -- "I used to wonder why the KKK bombed and burned Colored Churches. Now I know."

In case anyone was wondering, the "Old South" is not dead at all.

And "Old South" attitudes like these will keep the South from flourishing.

Yes, this is offensive ...

... but when an organization has covered up and indirectly supported the criminal assault of minors, this criticism is not surprising:



(Hat tip to the Friendly Atheist blog)

How Do Our Churches Survive in a Non-Religious World?

On Chalice Chick's Chaliceblog, she mentioned a member of her congregation speaking this concern during a public forum:

"This year, a lady said 'I went to a book signing Richard Dawkins did a few weeks ago, and there were SO MANY young atheists there. We need more young people, and I think the problems is that our services are too theist. How can we make our church more atheist as to attract more people? If we don't, our church is going to die ... '"

Chalice Chick made the following comment about this:

"It's been my observation that cold war era kids all had justifications why their hometown, wherever they grew up, was the first place the Russians were going to attack.

I can't help but think "There are billions of people out there who believe what I do, and the church is dying because it has not properly conformed itself to what I believe. If only UUism were more theist / atheist / spiritual / pagan / multicultural / activist, then it might have a chance, but it's not and indeed my people are terribly discriminated against, so it is surely doomed" comes from the same impulse.

Why do so many of us get off on feeling so persecuted,while at the same time believing that our message will be salvific for UUism?"

And Ms. Kitty made the following observation in the comment section of this blog:

"I'll bet the ministers in the porch chat just quietly and internally sighed at the shortsightedness of this questioner."

I think that there is a kernel of truth the congregant's concern about Unitarian Universalist churches becoming less friendly and welcoming for non-theists (Atheists, Agnostics, and other non-believers).

I think we're in danger of losing Will's "Denomination of Last Resort" market niche because church attendance as a behavior and the expectation of church attendance is dropping in North America. There is no need for a "Denomination of Last Resort" if there is no community pressure to attend church weekly.

Prior to the baby boomer generation, there was a community norm that everyone should be at church on Sunday morning.

Perhaps an exception would be made for Jewish folks and Christians who held their sabbath on the 7th day of the week.

But the idea that a person would sit at home or do something else other than church on Sunday morning would be a violation of community norms.

I suggest that this may have been a reason for many older Atheist, Agnostic, and Humanist Unitarian and Unitarian Universalists joining our congregations.

If your neighbors expect you to go to church, you're going to find the one that is most Atheist-friendly. We didn't require a belief in God -- because of our non-creedal nature, we were a welcome home for Atheists and Agnostics.

But our society has changed. Sunday church attendance isn't a community norm any more.

40% of Americans (according to social science survey data) SAY they attend church weekly. When behavior is observed, the actual figure is a two-fold over-estimate. Observed weekly church attendance is closer to 20%. See the information on the Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance web site for details behind this change.

To further complicate this, Christianity is shrinking relative to the US population (7.3% between 1990 and 2001 according to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS). The "No Religion - Atheist - Agnostic" category has grown by 6.6% during this same period (8.4% of the population in 1990 vs. 15.0% of the population in 2001 according to the ARIS data).

To summarize:

(1) Church attendance isn't a social norm anymore.

(2) Because of changes in social norms (item 1), we shouldn't assume that our Atheist, Agnostic, and Humanist friends will always be in our congregations.

(3) Christianity is losing "market share" in North America.

(4) The "No Religion - Atheist - Agnostic" is gaining market share.

Given these trends, can Unitarian Universalism adapt to a North American culture that is becoming less traditionally religious and can we provide a welcoming home for the growing North American non-religious demographic?

Or will we compete over a shrinking theistic market share with our Mainline Protestant church neighbors?

What we can offer as a religion is salvation for a world badly in need of salvation here-and-now and not in the afterlife (see my blog posts here about Unitarian Universalist salvation).

How do we survive as a religious community that offers salvation in a world that is becoming less traditionally theistic and less traditionally religious so we can continue to provide this salvation?