| Week Online: Let's
start at the beginning. What are Unitarian Universalists?
Charles Thomas: Unitarian
Universalism (UU) is a religious denomination, a merger of two denominations,
both of which formed in the late 1700s in the US. At that time, they
were among the largest in the US, especially in New England. UU is
not grounded in a particular religious creed, but in principles about how
people can best get along ethically in society. Our obligations are
as members of society and as people with a spiritual practice. We
affirm the inherent worth and dignity of all people, and we believe in
a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. UU started off
as a Christian denomination, but we've since grown into a religion that
respects all authentic spiritual practices and tries to look for the commonalities
in the major religions of the world. We apply the principles of justice
and compassion in our daily lives and in our social justice work in the
world around us. As a result, some people in the congregations have
a predominantly Christian-based spiritual practice, while others may incorporate
other religious elements. What unites us is not the particulars of
spiritual practice but our determination to live by the shared principles
of all the world's major religions.
WOL: Were you born
into a Unitarian family?
Thomas: No, like most
Unitarians, I was seeking. People learn about the church, they appreciate
its freedom of thought and right of conscience. We support and challenge
each other in our efforts to live the best possible lives.
WOL: What is UU policy
toward engaging with society and how does drug policy fit in?
Thomas: Because we
are such an open-minded and accepting denomination, we have very often
been on the cutting edge of various social issues, for example, gay rights.
We start with the belief that everyone has inherent worth and dignity.
For decades, we performed holy unions for gay members, we had gay clergy.
Now, other churches are doing the same. We have approached the drug
issue in the same manner. Going back to 1970, UUs passed a resolution
advocating the complete legalization of marijuana. They saw the laws
as making criminals of and causing unjust punishment for the many persons
who used marijuana. That is a much stronger statement in favor of
legalization than many major drug reform groups today are willing to go
even today. In 1973, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)
passed a resolution calling for heroin maintenance, where addicted could
have the drug prescribed. In 1991, the UUA passed a broader resolution
criticizing the war on drugs. It stopped short of calling for legalization
of anything other than marijuana, but advocated that those options be studied.
WOL: What is Unitarian
Universalists for Drug Policy Reform (UUDPR) and why was it formed?
Thomas: Last year,
the denomination voted to encourage all congregations to engage in a study
process for the next two years on drug issues. The end result will
be a statement of conscience, a grand statement expressing the collective
belief of the denomination about substance use and abuse in general, what
kind of policies and options we should advocate. That was when UUDPR
was formed. Our goal is to help facilitate the study process and
make the information available that could help to ensure that the statement
of conscience reflects past resolutions and is really grounded in our principles.
If everyone has inherent worth, as long as their drug use isn't hurting
anyone else, they shouldn't be punished for it. Most congregations
have come to understand that, and they understand the harm reduction paradigm.
We believe in the transforming power of love, unlike the coerced treatment
advocates who use all these repressive measures to "help" people.
We think if you meet people where they're at, you can help them minimize
the harm drug use might be causing, but we also trust that unconditional
love and acceptance can help heal that person's underlying spiritual, psychological
and other problems.
WOL: How does the UUDPR
interact with other churches?
Thomas: UUDPR intends
to reach out to other religious denominations, educating the general public,
and essentially saying that drug use isn't necessarily immoral. Even
if you believe it is, it is also immoral to arrest and punish and coerce
people for using drugs. Even if use is a sin, it is not the government's
role to punish sins and vices unless people are hurting others. We
hope to be in the forefront of bringing moral and religious argument against
prohibition to the general public and the other churches, and we will be
advocating harm reduction-based programs and approaches.
We've spoken with the Rev.
Sanders of Religious Leaders for a Compassionate Drug Policy, for example.
We can work together in a very synergistic way. Sanders is reaching
out to individual clergy around the country and encouraging different congregations
to start to get active on the issue.
The way we can help is by
holding up our position as expanding the envelope. Our situation
may be analogous to that of Gov. Johnson. He's from a small state,
but we just needed one governor to speak out and say drug reform needs
to happen to make that a legitimate topic of public discourse. We
hope to do something similar with the churches.
WOL: How does the UUDPR
engage with society?
Thomas: Next June,
our statement of conscience should be finalized. Then we'll start
devoting most of our efforts to reaching out to society at large.
Even now, we can act as individuals. UUs and congregations are speaking
out, writing letters, getting involved, some are already plugged into the
drug reform movement.
WOL: You could include
yourself in that category, couldn't you?
Thomas: You may know
me from my previous work with the Marijuana Policy Project. I've
been working on drug policy issues since college back in the late 1980s
and co-founded MPP along with Rob Kampia in 1995. I became a UU about
the same time. I was pleased that everything I was advocating at
MPP was in line with my church's views. I'm glad to have had that
opportunity at MPP, but as my spiritual practice developed, I have also
felt that I wanted to do something more overtly spiritually-based.
When this study action issue on drug policy came up, it just struck me
as a sort of calling. This is a wonderful opportunity for my spiritual
life and social justice vocation to really come together. So I'm
leaving MPP and will be working full-time for UUDPR as of November 1. |
