Doug Muder
Doug Muder, a columnist for uuworld.org, writes about religion and politics with a focus on attempts to bridge conflicts of worldview. His articles have appeared in UU World, Religious Humanism, The Humanist, and Public Eye.
He blogs about politics under the pseudonym Pericles for Daily Kos and writes the religious blog Free and Responsible Search. He is working on an introduction to Unitarian Universalism for Skinner House Books tentatively titled Unitarian Universalism 101: A Newcomer's Guide.
Doug is currently in his third career, having already been a mathematician (Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1984) and an author of books about computer software (including the over-optimistic VRML for Dummies with fellow UU David Kay, 1996). He is a member of First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Bedford, Massachusetts, and lives in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Articles
Christmas nostalgia for the family we never were
I never rode in a one-horse open sleigh or saw visions of sugarplums dance in my head.
By
Doug Muder
12.21.09
The DIY spiritual practice
A spiritual practice my wife and I cobbled together, the Unitarian Universalist way.
By
Doug Muder
11.16.09
Message or culture?
Are Unitarian Universalists more committed to spreading liberal religion or to preserving our congregational culture?
By
Doug Muder
8.17.09
Graduation day
Parenthood makes life serious and challenges you to push past limitations you have accepted too easily. But those issues don't go away when you decide not to have children.
By
Doug Muder
5.11.09
Holding the center against sectarianism and secularity
Religious liberals reject the idea that a religion is a collection of beliefs that are either true or false.
By
Doug Muder
4.27.09
A religion for hard times
Faith is what’s left when you stop responding to radical uncertainty with panic and denial.
By
Doug Muder
3.30.09
That elusive more
What do Unitarian Universalists need to go deeper?
By
Doug Muder
1.12.09
The ghosts of Unitarian Christmas
It was Christmas Eve, a time when any sensible person stays safe in his house with a good book. But then Ben’s reading lamp burned out.
By
Doug Muder
12.8.08
Assembly of a lesser god
Belief and worship are powerful tools for organizing thought and behavior. If others get control of those tools, they can make us dance like puppets. But if we’re careful, we can learn to pull our own strings.
By
Doug Muder
9.22.08
PostSecret Project reveals our common humanity
People keep secrets for all kinds of reasons, even Unitarian Universalists.
By
Doug Muder
7.21.08
The stages of rest
Four stages of burnout and recovery as the church year draws to a close.
By
Doug Muder
6.9.08
Unfinished with Christianity
Most Unitarian Universalists live in some kind of tension with Christianity. I wish we talked about this more.
By
Doug Muder
3.24.08
Mike Gravel's Unitarian Universalism
Democratic presidential candidate identifies as a Unitarian Universalist; UUA support for publication of 'Pentagon Papers' an enduring bond.
By
Doug Muder
12.10.07
Pete Stark's untroubled humanism
Regaled by a secularist group for his nontheism, the Unitarian Congressman can't fathom what the fuss is about.
By
Doug Muder
10.8.07
Liberal religion and the working class
If my working-class father started attending a UU church, I'm not sure who he'd talk to.
By
Doug Muder
9.3.07
Drops of water turn a mill
Does the Internet Age augur a revival of liberal religion?
By
Doug Muder
8.13.07
Does humanism need to be new?
A Harvard conference offers a ‘new humanism,’ but how does it differ from the old?
By
Doug Muder
6.4.07
Straight to Jesus
Inside the Evangelical gay-conversion movement.
By
Doug Muder
12.11.06
Secularism and tolerance after 9-11
Isn't religion supposed to be fading away?
By
Doug Muder
9.4.06
Competing worldviews of fundamentalists and religious liberals
Why are fundamentalists so frightened by liberal family values? A look at competing worldviews.
By
Doug Muder
9.12.05
Making sense of the conservative worldview
Two recent books can help liberals understand the Christian right.
By
Doug Muder
8.1.05
