I just realized that it’s entirely plausible someone would tell me to stfu when I say I’m not Christian, since my family celebrates Christmas and Easter, and would tell me that well, you’re culturally Christian, and like, I get what you mean, but I am literally not Christian. I am a Unitarian Universalist. It’s not Christianity. It’s pretty explicitly not Christianity. Half of my religious lineage is explicitly about not believing in the divinity of Christ.

Like! I have definitely been raised in a Christian culture! I have Christian relatives and even though I’m a third-generation UU, my family has passed down some of the more secular trappings of the really LOUD Christian traditions, like Santa at Christmas and the Easter Bunny at Easter. I know at least a few Jesus-related Christmas carols. My congregation hosts a nativity play every year, along with an Easter egg hunt. We also have a Passover seder, solstice celebrations, and bizarre annual flower and water “communion” services.

Unitarianism and Universalism both have a Christian heritage of sorts, that’s true. Unitarians were originally Christians who got kicked out for heresy of like, super high levels, since their heresy was literally not believing in one of the main foundations of Christianity, aka the Holy Trinity thing. Unitarians (then called Arians) got kicked out originally by the Council of Nicea and again every time someone went ‘ok but how the fuck does this trinity thing work anyway that’s just. CONTRADICTORY.’ (Unitarian Heresy: Believing in the Unity of God)

Universalists were also originally Christians and also got kicked out for super heinous heresy, as they disagreed with another main foundation of Christianity, that of the divide between Heaven and Hell, since, as Universalists pointed out, if God truly is the ultimate power of Good then it seems antithetical to its nature to like, actually damn anyone. (Universalist Heresy: Believing in Universal Salvation.)

Unitarian Universalism... is pretty different from its parents. It’s not Christian-Heretics-Assemble. It’s Come-All-Ye-Questioners. It’s not We-The-Chosen-People. It’s We-The-People-Who-Choose.

(look, I could keep going, I for a not insignificant period of my adulthood truly felt called to ministry as a UU, but this seems a little superfluous, so I’m going to tl;dr)

tl;dr: I get why people would call me culturally Christian. I don’t even entirely disagree. I certainly have been raised in a Christian culture. But damn if it doesn’t get my hackles up and make me want to hiss like an angry cat, because I am Unitarian Universalist down to my bones. it’s the faith I was raised in, a faith I believe in, a faith integral to my identity now and my memory of every self I’ve ever been. And I have spent my life having to defend my faith from people who try to tell me I’m Christian, that Unitarians are Christian, that Universalists are Christian, that UUs are basically Christian, just like, super liberal?, that Unitarian Universalism isn’t a religion, that Unitarian Universalism is nothing but an argument, nothing but a joke - and, funnily enough! it turns out that leads to really really really not liking it when someone calls me Christian. Even just a cultural one.

I’m sure there are atheists who would make similar arguments. And I’m sure the reasons people give for why the overwhelming majority of American atheists would count as culturally Christian are the same reasons they’d cite when labeling me. And I’m sure that yes, this is me reflexively responding to something people aren’t even saying, and that in most cases it would be derailing a conversation to object to its application. I’m sure that I’m going to bite my tongue the overwhelming majority of the time and stay in my goddamn lane because I understand the point the other person is making.

I’m just also sure it’s going to sting like hell.