Compare And Contrast The Unity School Of Christianity

Definition
Unity School of Christianity – a classic New Age cult, which appears to be Christian but is pantheistic in its core beliefs dating to 1886. It is best known for its internet publication Daily Word which posts diverse positive affirmations for daily reflection.
Jediism - “The Jedi Church believes that there is one all powerful force that binds all things in the universe together . . . [and] believes that our sense of morality is innate.”
Similarities
Both religions are considered pantheistic because both believe in an all-powerful Force. The doctrine of the Unity School of Christianity is “God is not a personality but a spiritual energy "force" or principle of love.” In his book Jesus Christ Heals, Charles Fillmore states "God is not loving. God is love . . . from which is drawn forth all feeling, sympathy, emotion, and all that goes to make up the joys of existence." The Unity School of Christianity believes God is the love everyone has within oneself. Believers accept God is “not a personal being but an energy or
force that expresses itself as a pantheistic love that permeates all things.”
Jediism has similar beliefs. Jediists also believe in a spiritual force with holds the universe together, “binding the galaxy together.” Many believers refer to the force as a deity, “some refer to it as a life force, but the one thing nearly all religions agree with, is that there exists a single unifying force.” Believers view the force or deity to be something powerful yet innate with the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. “This is the Jedi's belief, that morality, good and evil, are all axioms of the force, and that we must listen to the force so that we will know the right thing to do.”
Both religions express views on the afterlife, although it is somewhat vague. The Unity Church of Christianity believes both heaven and hell are not physical places but rather states of mine. According to their doctrine, “we make our heaven or hell here and now by our thoughts, words, and deeds.” Jediism devotees believe in a form of life after death. They believe after one dies, their soul “will move on to be embraced by the Force.”
Interestingly, both religions believe in reincarnation.
The Unity of School of Christianity professes people have several “lifetimes within one existence.” Dr. Donald Curtis of the Unity Church of Dallas writes, "It isn't so important that we make it in this particular lifetime, as it is to realize that we do make it, because there is only one lifetime and it goes on forever." Believers of Jediism also believe in a form of reincarnation albeit somewhat bazaar. According to some believers, the Force has an energy field similar to an electromagnetic field and has countless “frequencies” within it. “Each "life" (animal, vegetable, or microscopic) is infused or in tune with one of those frequencies. That frequency is supported by the flesh for only so long (life cycle of the organism) before the flesh dies and the frequency is released back into the Force. Once that happens, that frequency can be "reused" to create a new
life.”
Dissimilarities
There is a plethora of Unity churches in the Denver/Boulder area. Their services appear to be like any other regular church service consisting of music, a lesson, and a sermon. The Jedi Church, on the other hand does not have a physical church. What they offer, however, are online sermons, forums and chatrooms.
The Future The Unity Church stands a better chance of surviving future generations than the Jedi Church. Unity has a vision and a mission whereas the Jedi Church seems more internet-based. Recently Unity developed new vision and mission statements, both of which sound compelling. Their vision is “a world powerfully transformed through the growing movement of shared spiritual awakening” while their mission is to “advance the movement of spiritual awakening and transformation through Unity, a positive path for spiritual living.” Unity claims approximately 1 million worldwide members whereas the Jedi Church has an undefined number of members worldwide and many countries refused to recognize them as a viable religion. Albeit the Jedi Church is a very new NRM, founded in 2008 it does have a vision which is “to eventually establish an international Jedi Order that would serve as a moral anchor for all governments in the world, with Jedi ambassadors working alongside each one.” Unity Church is organized and structured as a business entity whereas the Jedi Church seems to have no structure whatsoever. It appears the Unity Church is a well-run organization and will exist for many generations. There was little or no information concerning the church’s viewpoints on social issues however, it does believe in diversity. Unity professes to have believers ranging from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, England, and Europe as well as Africa, Central and South America. The Jedi religion also claims to be a worldwide organization but their bases are dramatically smaller. A few in Canada, two in England, one in New Zealand, one in Belgium and one believer in Mexico. Although I had never heard of Jediism before this chapter, I believe it is a dying religion. It does not have charismatic leadership, structure, or any form of organization. Unity is a streamlined entity with a vision and mission that encompasses the future and works diligently to maintain its membership as well as recruit more followers.