Laura,
Yes. I have had first hand experience with this from the minister to the congregants
themselves... Blatant, in-your-face non-acceptance! My SO has lumped (and rightly so)
UUism with the other intolerant religions...
Mr Y
Laura Stewart <mathlaura@gmail.com> wrote:
Have people actually experienced non-acceptance at UU congregations?
There is also the "middle ground" of not-so-benign neglect -- changing the subject and ignoring or avoiding the issue. It is neither acceptance nor non-acceptance ... and certainly not awareness. Is it done out of a hope that the issue (be it poly or kink) will quietly go away? Or perhaps it is the person's mistaken idea of tolerance? Whatever the motivation, it's as uproductive as rejection, but without the clear stand that rejection provides.
Desmond Ravenstone
Do you really see poly and kink as equivalent? While I am kinky and don't think it's anyone's business to tell me what to do or not do in bed, it's hardly the same. If I like to get whipped until I bleed or wear a Ronald McDonald suit while I participate in a gangbang, it has very little bearing upon, well, much of anything at all outside of my bedroom. If people want to hear about it and I want to talk about it, I would expect to not be judged, but it hardly seems the same as homosexuality, polyamory, or any family-structure issue. "This is my wife and my husband and my girlfriend" has bearing outside of the bedroom. Unless someone wants to wear a collar and chain to church and introduce someone as their "slave" because thats pervades the entirety of their relationship (and maybe someone does want to do that?) I just can't see much equivalence.
This discussion should maybe be moved to a different thread, but I find it to be an interesting topic.
-Laura