The Freedom to Submit

Islam is one of the largest and fastest-growing global religions, emphasizing submission as the central ethic of the spiritual life. Is this the opposite of the Unitarian Universalist emphasis on personal freedom in religion? We’ll explore the relationship of freedom to submission by looking at interesting parallels between the Qu’ran (the holy text of Islam) and one of the great American texts devoted to freedom: Walden by Henry David Thoreau. This sermon will soon be published in One Nation, Indivisible: Seeking Liberty and Justice, From the Pulpits to the Streets, an anthology of sermons and essays by American faith leaders engaging Islam and Islamaphobia.