Unitarians embark on outreach
Association tries to raise national profile for first time with ad campaign
08:56 AM CDT on Saturday, November 3, 2007
From Wire Reports
Proud of their liberal views, spiritual skepticism and religious diversity – counting atheists, neopagans and Buddhists in their ranks – Unitarian Universalists are not known as heavy-duty evangelizers.
But with just 250,000 members and growth relatively stagnant at 1 percent a year, the Unitarian Universalist Association is trying to raise its national profile with an unorthodox ad campaign, the first in its 46-year history.
"We've kept our light under a bushel," said the Rev. Tracey Robinson-Harris, the association's director of congregational services. "I think this current national campaign really does reflect a shift for us in our passion and willingness to be more present."
Message, meaning
The ad campaign, in conjunction with Time magazine, hopes to amplify the church's voice on national issues, increase name recognition and inspire pride in the Unitarian Universalist identity.
It's not a reaction to the religious right, necessarily, but an effort to provide "messages that the world desperately needs right now," Ms. Robinson-Harris said. "We are speaking up on behalf of a more tolerant, more affirming approach to the diversity of religious perspective in the world."
Although rooted in Christianity, the only creed within Unitarian Universalism is that there is no creed. Instead, congregations adhere to seven principles, including "a free and responsible search for truth and meaning." They draw on texts from various religions, science and literature.
In recent years, several mainline denominations have introduced ad campaigns. In 2004, the United Church of Christ's "God is still speaking" television ads were booted from major networks as "too controversial." In 2001 the United Methodist Church launched its "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" campaign; an independent study indicated that people who saw the ads were 47 percent more likely to have a positive impression of Methodists than those who had not seen it.
In Houston, a recent Unitarian Universalist campaign helped turn a 7 percent membership decline into an 8 percent increase over the course of a year.
New frontier with 'Time'
The $425,000 national ad campaign will run through the end of the year, but Ms. Robinson-Harris wasn't sure if it would continue into 2008.
Traditional print ads will run in Time, carrying the message: "Is God keeping you from going to church?" A more unusual component, "advertorials," debuted last week in Time.com/ReligionPages, an online archive of Time religion stories.
The online archive will feature only stories that focus on three areas the association chose: religion and science; religion in American democracy; and religion, sexuality and morality. Readers can click on links to a Web page with essays written by Unitarian Universalist ministers about these topics.
That idea hasn't been without controversy.
The Rev. Scott Wells, a Unitarian Universalist minister who is starting a church in Washington, D.C., said the advertorials blur the line between editorial content and advertising.
"If I was an outside reader ... I'd wonder, why wasn't a story written about Unitarian Universalists if they're so important or relevant? And I don't think I've ever seen another religious body stoop to an advertorial," he said.
A Time spokeswoman said it's the first time a religious organization has advertised in an online archive of Time stories and said the magazine has designed online sections that have been purchased by other advertisers. She said Time would consider working with other religious groups if approached.
Unitarians embark on outreach
