Anyone know an easy way to describe unitarian universalism to someone?

Question

I am unitarian myself, and whenever i try to describe what it is to someone...they always get confused. anyone know an nice...and to the point...way of describing the religion?

Answer 1

Open - minded and individualistic approach to religion.

Answer 2

If the person I'm talking to is a Sherlock Holmes fan, I tell them our church is to churches what Mycroft's club, the Diogenes, was to gentleman's club's. Sherlock's brother belonged to a club for men who didn't fit in ordinary clubs but liked comfortable chairs and current periodicals. Our church is for people who don't fit in normal churches but still like sermons, social justice projects and potlucks.

Answer 3

Why bother with nice?
You start restricting yourself to nice and you will make your life very much harder and less efficient.

And no... I don't. I have no idea what it is, but I expect it is superfluous in any case.

Answer 4

All roads lead to Rome.

But why they try to get others to accept this is beyond me.

If all roads get there in the end, what does it matter which road somebody is travelling?

Answer 5

It's kinda like religion, but for adults.

Answer 6

My grandfather used to say, "Unitarianism. The belief that there is, at most, one god."

Answer 7

think Avatars from the WB series Charmed

Answer 8

This is about the religious movement called Unitarian Universalism, also known as "UU." For information on the largest association of UUs in North America, see Unitarian Universalist Association. For information about the beliefs from which UUism emerged, see Unitarianism and Universalism.

The flaming chalice is a widely used symbol for Unitarian Universalism.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.

A separate organization from the UUA is the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU), founded in 1995, which coordinates national Unitarian and Universalist associations of churches 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.

Unitarian Universalism is a faith with no creedal requirements imposed on its members. It values religious pluralism and respects diverse traditions within the movement and often within the same congregation. Many see it as a syncretic religion, as personal beliefs and religious services draw from more than one faith tradition. Even when one faith tradition is primary within a particular setting, Unitarian Universalists are unlikely to assert that theirs is the "only" or even the "best" way possible to discern meaning or theological truths. There is even a popular adult UU course called "Building Your Own Theology".

Many Unitarian Universalists consider themselves humanists, while others hold to Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, natural theist, atheist, agnostic, pantheist, or other beliefs. Some choose to attach no particular theological label to their own idiosyncratic combination of beliefs. This diversity of views is usually considered a strength by those in the Unitarian Universalist movement, since the emphasis is on the common search for meaning among its members rather than adherence to any particular doctrine. Many UU congregations have study groups that examine the traditions and spiritual practices of Neopaganism, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Pantheism, and other faiths. At least one UU minister, the Reverend James Ishmael Ford, has been acknowledged as a Zen master. There are Buddhist meditation teachers, Sufi teachers, as well as gnostic and episcopi vagantes clerics. Some view their Jewish heritage as primary, and others see the concept of God as unhelpful in their personal spiritual journeys. While Sunday services in most congregations tend to espouse a Christian-derived Humanism, it is not unusual for a part of a church's membership to attend pagan, Buddhist, or other spiritual study or worship groups as an alternative means of worship.

In a survey,[1] Unitarian Universalists in the United States were asked which provided term or set of terms best describe their belief. Many respondents chose more than one term to describe their beliefs. The top choices were:

Humanist - 54%
Agnostic - 33%
Earth-centered - 31%
Atheist - 18%
Buddhist - 16.5%
Christian - 13.1%
Pagan - 13.1%
There is great variety among Unitarian Universalist congregations, with some favoring particular religious beliefs or forms of worship over others, with many more home to an eclectic mix of beliefs. Regardless of their orientation, most congregations are fairly open to differing beliefs, though not always with various faith traditions represented to the same degree.

There is also a wide variety in how congregations conceive of themselves. Congregations call themselves "churches," "societies," "fellowships," "congregations," or eschew the use of any particular descriptor (e.g. "Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalists"). Many use the name "Unitarian Universalist," (and a few "Universalist Unitarian"), having gradually adopted this formulation since consolidation in 1961. Others use names that reflect their historic roots by keeping simply the designation "Unitarian" or "Universalist." A few congregations use neither (e.g. "Community Church of White Plains"). For some congregations, the name can be a clue to their theological orientation. For others, avoidance of the word "church" indicates a desire to distance itself from traditional Christian theology. Sometimes the use of another term may simply indicate a congregation's lay-led or relatively new status. However, some UU congregations have grown to appreciate alternate terms such as fellowship and retained them even though they have grown much larger or lost features sometimes associated with their use (such as, in the case of fellowships, a traditionally lay-led worship model).[2]

A current trend within Unitarian Universalism is to re-embrace forms of theism, both in worship and as a focus of intellectual inquiry. This has led to a shift away from (secular) humanism, agnosticism and atheism, and towards natural theism, liberal Christianity and other forms of engaged spirituality. The trend is particularly visible in the overall demographics, with nontheists better represented in the over-50 age group. Nontheism is also overrepresented in the under-18 group, but does not generally translate into greater numbers of nontheists among adults as these youth are more likely than their peers to leave UU congregations upon reaching adulthood. This is related to the gap between the under-18 and the over-30 groups, reflecting a lack of childless adults among those of child-bearing age. Also of note is that there are many more people who identify as UU on surveys than those who attend UU churches (by a factor of four in a recent survey),[3] reflecting lapsed members who nonetheless consider themselves part of the UU movement.

[edit] General Beliefs of UUs
Unitarian Universalists (UUs) believe in complete but responsible freedom of speech, thought, belief, faith, and disposition. They believe that each person is free to search for his or her own personal truth on issues like the existence, nature, and meaning of life, deities, creation, and afterlife. UUs can come from any heritage, have any sexual orientation, and hold beliefs from a variety of cultures or religions.

Concepts about deity are quite diverse among UUs. Some believe that there is no god; others believe in many gods. Some believe that God is everything. Some believe in a female God (Goddess), a passive God, a god found in nature or one which is the "ground of being". Some UUs reject the idea of deities and instead speak of "universal spirit" or "reverence of life". Unitarian Universalists believe that individuals should be supported by their community in their personal searches for truth about deity.

Principles and Purposes
Although lacking an official creed or dogma, Unitarian Universalist congregations typically respect the Principles and Purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association. As with most actions in Unitarian Universalism, these were created in committee, and affirmed democratically by a vote of member congregations, proportional to their membership, taken at an annual General Assembly (a meeting of delegates from member congregations). The full Principles, Purposes and Sources can be found in the article on the Unitarian Universalist Association. The Principles are as follows:

"We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote


The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;

A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;

The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."[4]
Unitarian Universalism is often referred to by its members as a living tradition, and the principles and purposes have been modified over time to reflect changes in spiritual beliefs among the membership. Most recently, the last principle, adopted in 1985 and generally known as the Seventh Principle, "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part", and a sixth source (adopted in 1995), "Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature" were added to explicitly include members with Neopagan, Native American, and other natural theist spiritualities.[5] Unitarian Universalists promote unique beliefs of a person that are based on their individual thoughts, and can go anywhere from a strict monotheistic belief to more of a philosophical view of things.