Unitarian Universalism \nUnitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religious faith that traces its roots to Universalist and Unitarian congregations. The church's official organization in the USA is the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Unitarian Universalism is a creedless religion. It generally respects all the major religious traditions, and religious services often draw from the various world faiths. A major difference between Unitarian Universalism and other major religions is a strong emphasis on tolerance. Unitarian Universalist churches welcome gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, and transgendered individuals as well as the handicapped, and the church does not discriminate on the basis of skin color, national origin, or ethnicity. A majority of its members consider themselves humanists, while the remaining segment is comprised of Christians, pagans, atheists, and agnostics. This vast diversity of views is considered a strength by the UU faith, since its emphasis is on the common search for meaning among its members rather than adherence to any particular doctrine. Many UU congregations have study groups which study the doctrines of Neopaganism, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and other faith traditions.
While many people are raised in the UU faith, a great number of members have come from other religious backgrounds. People join the UU faith for a variety of reasons. Unitarian Universalism often draws on adult refugees from other faiths. Often parents choose to bring up their children in the UU faith as a compromise if the mother and father come from different religious backgrounds. Also, parents who do not subscribe to a particular dogma but who want to give their children some kind of religious background are also drawn to the UU faith. Children who are brought up in the UU faith attend Sunday religious education classes, which are somewhat akin to Sunday School in Protestant churches.
HistoryTraditionally, Unitarianism was a heretical doctrine emerging out of Christianity that rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. Although this belief was rejected by orthodox Christians, it did have a following in Transylvania in the sixteenth century. Michael Servetus, a Spanish Unitarian, was burned at the stake in Geneva, Switzerland in 1553 on the orders of John Calvin. In the United States, Unitarian churches were formed after a split in the Congregationalist church in New England. Each small town in the region typically had a congregationalist church at the town square. After the split, some of those churches remained congregationalist, while others became Unitarian. Universalism was traditionally a doctrine emerging out of Christianity that rejected the doctrine of hell; instead, it believed that salvation was universal. These two religious bodies always had a great deal of commonality and communication between them, and were often associated in the public eye. One observation made years ago about Unitarianism and Universalism, long before their merger, was that (paraphrase) "Universalists believe that God is too good to condemn man, while Unitarians believe that man is too good to be condemned by God." Both Unitarianism and Universalism evolved over time into inclusive, tolerant religions, without strict dogmas.\nIn 1961, American Unitarian Association (AUA) merged with the Universalist Church of America (UCA), thus forming the Unitarian Universalist Association.Unitarian Universalist servicesReligious services are usually held on Sundays and resemble, to a certain extent, the form and format of Protestant worship.\nThere is usually a structured service that includes the singing of hymns and a sermon by the minister of the congregation. However, most UU churches do not perform the traditional Christian rites, such as baptism or communion, though many that continue these practices are also members of the Council of Christian Churches within the Unitarian Universalist Association. Other rituals replace these traditions, including Water Communion, Flower Communion, and blessings of children and babies. Music is not limited to traditional hymns, but often includes instrumental music or singing songs from other traditions. Some congregations are explicitly known not as churches but as fellowships. These congregations are more likely to display unusual service forms than the traditional churches. The symbol of Unitarian Universalism is a flaming chalice. Some churches light a chalice while saying opening words at the beginning of each service. Many of these "chalice lightings" vary, here is one example:\n:We light this chalice\n:to remind ourselves\n:to treat all people kindly\n:because they are our brothers and sisters\n:to take good care of the earth,\n:because it is our home\n:and to try to live lives,\n:filled with goodness and love\n:because that is how we will become,\n:the best men and women we can be. \nOne UU service that was held the week after the September 11 attack is posted online. While the circumstances of this service were not ordinary, it is an excellent example of a Unitarian Universalist service in many ways. In his sermon Rev. Paul Beedle, minister of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside, discusses the foundations of the faith, quoting a common Unitarian Universalist affirmation:
PoliticsUnitarian Universalists have often been active in liberal political activism, notably the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement, the social justice movement, and the feminist movement. UUs were very involved in the fight to end slavery in the US and to end racism. James J. Reeb, a minister at All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington, D.C and a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was clubbed in Selma, Alabama on March 8, 1965, and died two days later of massive head trauma. He and approximately 20% of UU ministers marched with Martin Luther King in the three marches from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery. The Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights are best known as Bloody Sunday, although technically that refers only to September 7, the most violent day of the three. The current head of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Rev. William Sinkford, is African-American, making Unitarian Universalism the first traditionally white religion to be headed by an ethnic minority. Most Unitarian Universalists oppose the death penalty and many are active in political movements to end it in the US. Some work for causes such as environmental protection, peace, feminism, gun control, free speech, safe and legal abortion, and animal rights. Others work to end homelessness, racism, domestic violence, homophobia, sexual assault, and HIV/AIDS. This is not to say that the politics of UUs are uniform. Like the beliefs of Unitarian Universalists, their politics are decided by individuals. But the principles of compassion, respect, justice, and diversity are the foundation of all UU politics. Politically conservative Unitarian Universalists point out that neither religious liberalism nor the Principles and Purposes of the UUA require liberal politics. Unitarians and Universalists were also very active in the women's suffrage movement.\nSusan B. Anthony was a Unitarian and Quaker, and was extremely influential in the suffrage movement. UUs and Quakers share certain principles, notably that they are creedless religions with a long-standing commitment to social justice. Many UU congregations have undertaken a series of organizational and practical steps to be acknowledged as a "Welcoming Congregation", a congregation which has taken specific steps to welcome and integrate gay and lesbian members.\nGays and lesbians are regularly ordained as UU ministers, and services are performed recognizing committed same-sex relationships. Many congregations are heavily involved in projects and efforts aimed at supporting environmental causes and sustainability. These are often termed "seventh principle" activities because of the seventh principle quoted above. A comprehensive discussion of Unitarian Universalism can be found in the book Challenge of a Liberal Faith by George N. Marshall (ISBN 0933840314).See also\n*List of Unitarian Universalists\n*List of Unitarian Universalist Independent Affiliate organizationsExternal links\n*UUA.ORG (official)\n*Unitarian Universalist Service Committee\n*Welcome to the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans! |
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