I often wonder if I belong anywhere. Many churches emphasize, “You have to believe this” or “You have to believe that,” and I just can’t buy into it. It doesn’t seem real to me. One thing I appreciate about the Unitarian Universalist Church is that I don’t have to adhere to a creed to be part of it.

Why am I like this? Why can’t I fit in anywhere? In many ways, I envy those who can accept whatever the leadership says and seemingly fit in. But I’m not like that. I have to be real and honest about who I am, and this makes it very difficult for me to fit in anywhere. Part of this is because I’m not going to buy into whatever the leadership says. Another part is that I wonder if any place will accept me as I am.

Now that I’ve said that, I have to ask myself: What am I looking for? I want to find a place that will truly accept me for who I am and where I can express myself without condemnation. I’m not looking for a place where people believe exactly as I do—I don’t even know what I believe at times. I want to find a place that allows people to seek, explore, and discover what is real for themselves. But when a church has a statement of faith, it’s like a boundary or fence that says, “This is who we are, and you have to fit in if you want to be part of us.” I don’t believe that having a statement of faith or a doctrinal statement should be part of what a true church is. They should allow people to be who they are and not have to bow or bend to what others say they have to be.