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money, time and loyalty than any Urantia organization gets. Of course, there is a good reason the Christian church gets the lion's share of everything. It has the infrastructure which the Urantia community in general does not have. It offers worship services on Saturday or Sunday, and professional clergy who can counsel people, perform weddings, and represent the Christian community to the rest of the world. At its best, the church offers a social/spiritual structure within which people feel they have a place and an identity. The Urantia community struggles at a disadvantage because it lacks much of this structure; therefore it cannot command the loyalty and resources the Christian church can. Furthermore, in a culture that is so largely Christian, the Christian church has the approval and sanction of society; the Urantia community does not. When the Urantia community/religion does develop such an infrastructure, then it will begin to command more of the loyalty and resources of students of the book. For those who long for a church that embodies the teachings of The Urantia Book, there is an unmet need. It appears we already have a Urantia religion; I believe it is only a matter of time before some sort of Urantia church emerges from this religion.
What will be the relationship of a Urantia church to other religious organizations, especially the Christian church? It all depends on perceptions. It's not how we see ourselves or what we call ourselves that counts; it's how those outside our community perceive us. Because our community is small and not prone to the sort of sensationalism that attracts the press, there is no general awareness of us as a Urantia religion yet. This anonymity will not last forever. When and if a portion of our community evolves into a church we'll become very visible. If the Urantia church is small, it can no doubt maintain cordial relations with all but the most conservative Christian churches, much as Unitarian Universalists do. If it grows into a real powerhouse and begins to pull in large numbers of members from Christian churches, it may be seen as a threat and perhaps some tensions will develop. If, on the other hand, this postulated Urantia church is or is perceived as a splinter Christian church, then it may blend into the Christian background so well that it's hardly noticeable. Do we want to be almost invisible to the world?
How will this Urantia church come about? Will the Urantia religion grow within the cocoon of the Christian church and eventually split off to form its own church? Or will the Christian church--or a segment of it--evolve because of its contact with the Urantia community within it and become a Urantia church? If we look to the example of the Christian church and Judaism, we note that the Christian church was built on the foundations of Judaism, but was far more than just a reformed Judaism. But the differences between Judaism and the emerging Christian religion were much greater than are the differences between the teachings of The Urantia Book and Christianity. The theology of the book could almost be seen as Christian theology purged of its negative aspects. I feel that there is a strong possibility of a spin-off sect. The authors of The Urantia Book indicate that either a new church will emerge from within the Christian church, or that the Christian church itself will be transformed from within. On page 1866 they tell us, "It may be what will emerge does not resemble the Christian church, but it would be hard to believe that it would not at least bear traces of its ancestry."
It seems that rites and rituals are a necessary part of most religions, and I am sure a Urantia church will be no exception. The rites and rituals that are a part of the Christian religion have a long history and a strong identity and might be appropriated by an emergent Urantia church. Unfortunately, many of the rituals, such as communion, have traditional meanings that are unacceptable to the Urantia community, but they could be redefined so they reflect the more positive teachings of the book. Even if a Urantia church develops totally outside of the Christian church, I suspect that there will be many similarities between the Urantia church and the Christian church. It is much easier, faster, and generally the natural human tendency to adapt existing rites and rituals rather than start from scratch. Symbols may be more of a problem.
On page 966, the authors inform us that "...even the restatement of the religion of Jesus must develop a new and appropriate symbolism." What then becomes of the primary symbol of traditional Christianity, the cross? It certainly has quite a different meaning for us who are students of The Urantia Book. Can this venerable Christian symbol be purged of its atonement connection and rehabilitated to symbolize the real meaning of Jesus' life and death? The problem is that the cross is primarily a symbol of Jesus' death, not his life. Perhaps a shepherd's crook would be a more appropriate symbol. Another symbol that will surely be appropriated by a Urantia church--despite any trademark laws--is that of the three concentric blue circles. This symbol is so highly regarded by so many in the Urantia community that no organization will be able to keep them from using it. I suspect we will long use well-known symbols before we develop something unique for ourselves.
A Urantia church may be a long way in the future; it will probably be preceded by recognition of our community as a religion. I feel that the Urantia community already is a religion whether or not we perceive ourselves as such. The awareness of this may come from outside our community rather than from within. The early Christians may not have perceived themselves as a religion; they didn't even name themselves, someone else did. When there comes to be a widespread consciousness of the Urantia community, perhaps we will be named. We may be known as Urantians, Urantia-ites or some other derivative of the word Urantia. The religion will possibly be known as Urantia-ism or perhaps just Urantia.
A case could be made that a Urantia church of sorts already exists. Consider: Church-
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