Comparative Congregationalisms
Many religious communities organize with a different structure than congregational polity. Although we often conflate it with liberal thought, that is not a necessary link. We can look at other denominations to see the strengths and weaknesses of other ways of organizing, and thus better understand our own.
- "Ten people of Jewish faith can form a congregation and legitimately call themselves a synagogue. Forming a Unitarian Universalist congregation is much more complicated."
- "All three denominations—the United Church of Christ, the American Baptist Convention, and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations—form strong associations to further their purposes. . . . For the UUA the question is whether we have a vision that makes associating worth the effort and cost."
- "The Unitarian Church in Transylvania and the Universalist Church of the Philippines provide two models of the ability to be a faithful Unitarian or Universalist in non- congregational ways."
Questions
- What experience have you had with churches or synagogues which have a different polity?
- What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of those other forms of church organization?