Forgive my ignorance please, will you?

Question

But what exactly is a unitarian? Is it part of the Christian faith?

Answer 1

Unitarian Universalism? It's very very open-minded, respects every belief, and believes in freedom. A few of the things they believe in:
1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.*

*taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism#Beliefs

Answer 2

Unitarian, as you have used it with a lower case 'u' simply means a person who believes in one god. This is in contrast to the Roman Catholic Trinity, which recognizes God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus as God. Jesus, as a Jew, was by definition a unitarian. Many Christian faiths are also unitarian, lacking the Catholic structure of the Trinity.

Used as a proper noun as in Unitarian Universalist, the word carries a different meaning. Formerly, the Unitarians and Universalists were separate liberal, Judeo-Christian denominations. Since 1961 they have merged and have evolved into the major voice of liberal religion in the United States.

You can learn more about Unitarian Universalism by visiting the homepage of the Unitarian Universalist Association, listed below. I've also included a link to our principles and purposes. Of course, the more personal way to learn about UU's is by visiting a local congregation. The congregation finder site is listed below as well.

Answer 3

With a small "u", anyone who believs God is a unity, not a trinity. Some Christian denominations do that. With a capital "U", a member of the Unitarian Universalist denomination, which hasn't been Christian since the mid-1800's. In New England we still meet in white churches with tall steeples. It is easy to confuse us with the Christians.

Most people neglect the Universalist part. Sears used to be "Sears Roebuck" and that luxury car most people call a "Rolls" is really a "Rolls-Royce".

We started out by believing in one god (Unitarian) and universal salvation (Universalist). We have gotten more liberal. I usually compare us to that club that Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft belonged to. The Diogenes club was a club for men who didn't fit in other clubs. The UU church, in my view, is a church for people who don't fit in other churches. (Our web committee has voted 4:2 against that particuar analogy at least twice, so it isn't on our web site.)

I've been a UU since 1973, when I found there was a church for people like me. I maintain a small UU congregation's web site at
http://www.stanuu.org

The Beliefs and FAQ pages will help you get a feel for us. The sermons and guest sermons will tell you what we talk about in church - just read the one-paragraph summaries.

http://www.stanuu.org/moreabout.html...
is a sort of all-inclusive "Learn more about us" page.

Every time someone asks about UU here on YA, someone else calls us a cult. The next section is from our FAQ page.

Is Unitarian Universalism a cult?

No. Cults have three hallmarks. They are relatively new, they have a single, charismatic leader, and they share a single mindset. We have been around for 200 years. President John Adams and his son, President John Quincy Adams, were Unitarians. Our leader, the president of the UUA, changes every ten years. Sometimes we elect a person with charisma, sometimes we don't. As to our mindset, some of us believe in God, some don't. We have other differences. We are not a mainline protestant denomination, but we are far from being a cult.

So much for cult status.

Someone else will tell you we are "The church that doesn't believe in anything". Wrong again. There are Presbyterians who are Republicans and Presbyterians who are Democrats. No one calls the Presbyterians "The church that doesn't vote". There are Catholics who love sushi and Catholics who hate it. (There are Lutherans who consider it "bait".) No one says "Catholics don't eat anything".

Some UUs believe in a supreme being and some don't. Some are in favor of abortion and some are not. Almost all of us believe evolution is the best explanation for the variety of species. We believe in a lot of things. We just didn't have to swear to think in lockstep to join our church.

Answer 4

Unitarian Universalism (UUism) is a theologically liberal religious movement characterized by its support of a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning." This principle permits Unitarian Universalists a wide range of beliefs and practices. Unitarian Universalist congregations and fellowships tend to retain some Christian traditions such as Sunday worship that includes a sermon and singing of hymns, but do not necessarily identify themselves as Christians.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), founded in 1961 as a consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church in America, is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and serves churches in North America. The UUA represents more than 1,000 member congregations that collectively include more than 217,000 members. Unitarian Universalists follow a congregational model of church governance, in which power resides at the local level; individual congregations call ministers and make other decisions involving worship, theology and day-to-day church management. The denominational headquarters in Boston in turn provides services for congregations that can more effectively be handled through joint efforts. Founded in 1995, the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) serves congregations throughout the world.

Both Unitarianism and Universalism trace their roots to Christian Protestantism. Many UUs appreciate and value aspects of Christian and Jewish spirituality, but the extent to which the elements of any particular faith tradition are incorporated into one's personal spiritual practices is a matter of personal choice in keeping with UU's creedless, non-dogmatic approach to spirituality and faith development. Even before the Unitarian and Universalist movements combined their efforts at the continental level, the theological significance of Unitarianism and Universalism expanded beyond the traditional understanding of these terms

Answer 5

Unitarianism believes in the oneness of God and not the Christian doctrine of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in one God) as proclaimed at the Council of Nicaea in 325. Unitarians believe in the moral authority, but not the deity, of Jesus.

Answer 6

Unitarian is a Christian who believes that God is one being as opposed to Tritarian who believe that God is a Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Cheers!

Answer 7

I don't think there is such thing as a unitarian, my understanding was that unitarian churches combined all faiths, Christians, Muslims, Jewish, Atheists...etc. It's sort of "neutral" ground for everyone.

Answer 8

: Unitarian Universalism is a fairly small, yet widely influential, cult. Having under 300,000 registered members, mostly in the United States, they are becoming more and more popular. Relativism, tolerance, and alternative lifestyles are all buzz-words promoted by Unitarian Universalism.



The Unitarian Universalist name comes from their denial of the doctrine of the Trinity and their belief that all human beings gain salvation--the mere idea someone might go to hell is not compatible with the character of a loving God. Its roots go all the way back to the sixteenth-century when Unitarian beliefs became popular during the Reformation. Unitarianism thought and Universalism thought were merged together during the late eighteenth-century in America during the Age of Reason. The intellectual elite of that time refused to believe in such biblical teachings as total depravity and eternal damnation, but rather embraced the idea of a single loving God who would never cause someone to suffer.



Adherents of Unitarian Universalism base their beliefs primarily upon their own experiences, and are not committed to any one religious system. They believe that each individual has the right to decide for themselves what to believe in, and that others should not infringe upon this right. As a result, one such believer might lean toward liberal Christianity, while another might lean toward New Age spirituality. There is no real dogma beyond tolerance. They reject the Bible as being the Word of God, equating it with barbaric writing that has little to do with modern man; it is a book of myths. As such, they reject the Bible's portrayal of a Triune God, leaving the concept of God up to each individual's imagination.



To Unitarian Universalism, Jesus was a good moral teacher, but nothing more. He is not considered to be divine, and every miracle associated with Him is rejected as being outside of human reason. Most sayings of Jesus recorded in the Bible are regarded as embellishments on the part of the authors. Jesus did not die to save mankind from sin, as man is not a fallen sinner. Emphasis is placed on humankind's capacity for goodness. Sin is completely relative, and the term itself is rarely used. Man saves himself through personal improvement, salvation being a purely worldly experience, a "waking up" to the world around oneself. This is very important, for death is final. Most Unitarian Universalists deny the existence of an afterlife, so all we have on earth is all we'll ever get.



Unitarian Universalism has nothing in common with biblical Christianity. It is a false gospel; its teachings are contrary to the Bible, and its members strongly oppose traditional, biblical Christian beliefs (while purporting to be free of discrimination or prejudice of any kind). The Bible clearly refutes Unitarian Universalism on all the major points of its teachings.

Answer 9

there is no ignorance on your part, you are asking to gain knowledge. from what i gather about unitarianism is they believe in everything and nothing at the same time. there are four different sects of it too. unitarian universalist believe that god does exist but jesus wasnt "god" he was a powerful man but not divine

Answer 10

Yes theyre like Muslims, they believe in Jesus and they believe he was human and they believe he wasnt God but they follow him because he was a prophet of God.

And that God is One

Not three in one.