In 1942, Quaker and Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin wrote that “the primary social function of a religious society is to speak the truth to power.” In coining this phrase, Rustin articulated a defining role of influential religious figures throughout human history. It’s a characteristic Unitarian Universalists have often embodied as part of our own spiritual identities. But we don’t always speak up. And when we do speak up, we don’t always do so with integrity to our life affirming values. How do we authentically respond to the call to “speak truth to power”? And how do we know when we are genuinely doing so?

Topics: Resistance

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