[UUPoly-L] The Great Open Marriage Catastrophe

["Moonstorm Erosong" <mnstrm@erosong.net>]

Hi, UUPolyfolk!

I'm wondering if someone can shed some light on something for me.

Fairly often when I come out to some UU as poly, or engage with some UU in a
conversation about poly, I'll get some response like, "We tried that back in
the 70s; it didn't work."  Occasionally I'll hear some long-standing UU talk
about "how open marriage nearly killed UUism in the 70s."  They never say
much about it, and I am left regretting that, although I've been a UU since
I was 12, I spent the 70s pretty much submerged in med school and
residency.  I didn't really return to active church participation until the
early 90s, by which time I was living an actively and openly poly life, and
I got elected to the church board and the ministerial search committee
shortly after I had preached a sermon on polyamory.

So, I am always left tantalizingly wondering about this legendary "Great UU
Open Marriage Catasphrophe" of the 1970's.  I can imagine that a lot of UUs
might have gotten interested in the human potential movement, nude encounter
groups, and the like, but the idea that the Open Marriage movement was ever
large enough or aggressive enough to seriously threaten the cohesion of our
denomination is hard for me to swallow.

And how did this issue get resolved?  Did the open marrage people go back to
being happily monogamous UUs, or did they essentially get ejected from our
churches, or did they just all run off and become Gestalt therapists or
Pagans?

If there's anyone out there who actually lived through that period as a UU
and can share with us what happened, I'd be deeply grateful.

Blessings,

'Storm