By Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Minister Amanda Poppei is a Senior Leader & Unitarian Universalist Minister at the Washington Ethical Society (Ethical Culture and Unitarian Universalist). Here we talk about the attraction of ethical culture and ethical societies.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What attracts people to ethical culture?
Minister Amanda Poppei: Usually, people come looking for the community–they want something that’s “like church” but that doesn’t have dogma or beliefs that no longer fit for them.
But they DO want a place where they can be known, where people will bring them casseroles if they have surgery or celebrate with them when they meet with success in life.
And, they’re often looking for a place where they can practice their values, where what they feel is important can be reinforced in the talks and the music and they can feel like they’re really living their principles.
Jacobsen: What keeps people in ethical societies?
Poppei: I think people stay because of the relationships they make and the way society makes them feel. They stay because they feel connected to other people, and because they believe in the mission and want to be part of making it happen.
Like any community of people, Ethical Societies have conflict sometimes, and it can be tempting to just walk away when that happens.
But folks stay because they see that they have an opportunity to actually work with and through the conflict and build an even better community together.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Minister Poppei.
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Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the Founder of In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal and In-Sight Publishing. He authored/co-authored some e-books, free or low-cost. If you want to contact Scott: Scott.D.Jacobsen@Gmail.com.
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Do not forget to look into our associates: Godless Mom, Nice Mangoes, Sandwalk, Brainstorm Podcast, Left at the Valley, Life, the Universe & Everything Else, The Reality Check, Bad Science Watch, British Columbia Humanist Association, Dying With Dignity Canada, Canadian Secular Alliance, and Centre for Inquiry Canada.
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Other Resources: Recovering From Religion.
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Image Credit: Minister Amanda Poppei.
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