The United Church of Canada's Theology of Inclusion

After the 1960s, as cultural, linguistic, racial, and other differences increasingly defined peoples' identities, inclusivity became one of The United Church of Canada's (UCC's) defining characteristics and goals. But in 2000, a critique rose within UCC on inclusivity as presuming a power imbalance between those deciding who will be included and how, and those being included. This critique continued as UCC embarked on becoming an intercultural church. In UCC's 2022 strategic plan, inclusivity is scarcely mentioned. Yet the theme of inclusivity permeates the strategic plan and other UCC documents. While inclusivity has been sublated in UCC, this article demonstrates that its enduring values have been taken up and preserved in UCC's theology of an intercultural church. It will then illuminate the concept of inclusion with ideas from Michael Walzer, J & uuml;rgen Habermas, and Charles Taylor. Finally, the nature and grounding of inclusivity in the doctrine of God will be discussed using ideas of Gustavo Gutierrez.