At first blush I didn’t think that the unveiling of a new UUA logo would be just another volley in the Association or Movement quandry, but I am wrong.
According to the article published today on the UU World site:
The Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley, the UUA’s Program and Strategy Officer, said the new initiative developed out of a growing realization that the UUA and its congregations have been sending “inconsistent” messages about Unitarian Universalism into the larger world.
Let me see if I have this straight. A new logo is going to make the UUA have a consistent message? Wow….that’s a hell of a lot to ask of a logo.
It’s time for me to call bullshit again. Contrary to what seems to be popular opinion/belief, the UUA has been remarkably consistent in its message–to those it fit its target demographic. And that’s the real issue. The primary demographic that the UUA has been giving its message to is shrinking at a fairly decent clip. And the demographic that is taking its place looks at religion and spirituality differently.
A new logo won’t change the fact that the UUA continues to ignore the real demographic changes to its detriment. A new logo won’t change the fact that the UUA and many of its member congregations (if not most of them), until recently, went out of their way to ignore the issues that members of the growing new majority face on a daily basis. A new logo cannot and will not change the fact that many UU congregations have no raison d’etre other than being enablers of suburban and exurban flight.
So, here’s the major question….what message does this new logo give that the last one didn’t?