I’ve been thinking about giving the Unitarian Universalists another shot. My first experience with them was that they were nauseatingly pollyanaish new age types. But their core principles appeal to me and they meet more often and they come across as less intrinsically arrogant than the secular humanists. Some of the polyannaish new age seeming people have more depth than they appear to. All I have to lose is a Sunday morning. Well, that and my attachment to a “cynical cool” image of myself.
I don’t necessarily see any reason why “cynical cool” and “going to a UU service/coffee klatch or two” are inherently incompatible. A good skepticisim-based cynic gathers data (and occasionally revisits their analysis) before being condescendingly dismissive.
I want to drink the koolaid. =)
If the first UU place you tried seemed too flaky, perhaps try a different group of UU folks?
As with most religions which afford lattitude to the individual congregation (mostly anything other than catholics, mormons), you’re going to find there’s a lot of variation. A polyanna tone is one of the things I think will bear quite little similarity from group to group.
I think this is especially true of faiths which incorporate, necessitate, or foster the seeking component of spirituality. My suspicion is that UU groups may not actively foster seeking, but that seekers will likely find themselves there.
To be clearer, you’re really shopping for a church, not just a religion. If the religion was enough, you wouldn’t have to go.