Can you tell me more about the UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS?

Question

What do they believe?

Please no wikipidia, or copy and paste.
Can you give me your thoughts? do you know of anyone that is unitarian universalists?

Answer 1

I was raised Unitarian. We honor all religions and humanism also. In our church we had banners of every major religion and we studed them all in classes. It is a very cool society. I was also raised atheist and we fit in. I was in Northern Ca. but I've heard back east some of the Unitarian churches are very Christian. You can be any religion and belong to the Unitarian church. They are good people that do good in their communities, helping the poor and disadvantaged.

Answer 2

I've been a UU since 1973, formally. I believed what they did before then, that all religions were different paths up the same mountain, but didn't know there were people like me who got together on a regular basis.

We are people who don't fit in a normal church because of our beliefs. I sometimes compare our church to the Diogenes Club. Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's brother, was a member of the Diogenes Club. If you are a Sherlock Holmes fan, you will know; if not, the analogy will be lost on you.

It is an odd little denomination that has three major beliefs.

1) The worth and dignity of each person. In practice that means we welcome (and ordain) Blacks, Whites, Ladies, GLBT's and other minorities and majorities.

2) A free and responsible search for truth and meaning. In practice that means we question some parts of the Bible and that most of us believe in evolution.

3) The democratic process. In practice that means each congregation hires (and fires, if they deserve it) their own minister, instead of having a bishop send us a new one. We have more librarians and ACLU members per capita than some other churches, too.

We have four other principles. Those three are the ones you hear about most often, and the three that set us apart from some other denominations.

We believe every person should make up his her own mind about the nature of God, which amuses, confuses or annoys normal people. We have Atheists, Agnostics, Buddhists, Theists and Wiccans among us. Some of our members are from mixed marriages, like Catholics and Jews or Mormons and Presbyterians.

Having a congregation where a Buddhist, an Agnostic and a Deist can some together to discuss spiritual issues doesn't mean we don't believe in anything. It does mean we have different beliefs but manage to meet under the same roof. That is a subtle distinction that is lost on many people.

If you leave your Q open long enough (sometimes 20 minutes is enough) someone will tell you we are a cult. Cults are new, have a single mindset and have a single, charismatic leader. We've been around for 200 years. We don't have a single mindset. Our leaders are not particularly charismatic and change every 5 or 10 years. Calling us a cult is like calling Donald Trump a communist, but that doesn't stop people.

If you are still interested,
http://www.stanuu.org
has a Beliefs page and an FAQ page. The site has 40+ sermons, if you are REALLY interested. "Adventures of a UU Web Master", on the Guest Sermons page, is warm, witty and well-written.

Answer 3

Well I consider myself a Biblical Unitarian, not a Unitarian Universalist, but maybe I can help distinguish the two.

Every denomination has conservative and liberal sub-denominations. Biblical Unitarianism is the conservative form, Unitarian Universalist is the liberal.

Biblical Unitarians believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but they do not use the word Trinity. They accept any doctrine taught in scripture, so they consider Jesus far beyond us, but they do not say Jesus was God because the scriptures do not expressly state that Jesus was God, but instead that Jesus was the Son of God. Personally, since I consider myself a Biblical Unitarian, I believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but I do not need the word Trinity to express that or bind it all together. I don't need "three in one; one in three" God.

However, Biblical Unitarianism is virtually extinct. Unitarian Univeralist is a belief that Jesus was not divine, at all, they often neglect the Holy Spirit, and they consider that virtually anyone who believes in a God is saved. In essense they only believe in "The Father" but in a way that Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists, Jews, Christians, etc are all saved. They often believe Jesus was just a good teacher who taught us about the Father, but he did not want any kind of worship or anything of that sort.

So the conservative and liberal forms of Unitarianism is very different. For me, Unitarian means simply not using the word "Trinity" in my creed. For most Unitarians, being Unitarian means you follow just one God, and so long as you follow one God you are a Unitarian and saved. It doesn't matter by what name you call him or how you worship him or what holy book you read, so long as you believe in a God you will go to heaven.

EDIT: Oh by the way, in reserach for a book I wrote about America's Christian heritage, I found out that most of the Founding Fathers were Unitarians rather then deistic. I had never heard of Unitarian up until the time I began my research so this was all new to me. John Adams was a pretty conservative Unitarian - he believed that maybe Jesus was divine, it was possible, he thought, but he was caught between a very conservative Calvinistic sect and a very liberal "Enlightenment" movement, but of all the Founders he was closest to Biblical Unitarian.

Thomas Jefferson expressed in letters that he hoped the entire US would become Unitarian (the people I mean, not the government). "Unitarian Universalist" was not a denomination yet but he was a foreshadowing of Universalist Unitarianism.

Ben Franklin typically associated with the Presbyterian/Congregational church, but he had doubts of the divinity of Jesus and thus would be like a moderate/liberal Unitarian, but he did refer to Jesus as the "Father of our religion" and so Franklin was sort of torn between the two forms of Unitarianism.

Washington does not write much about the divinity of Jesus so we don't know where he stood here, but he was an Episcopalian by tradition, and he did everything an Episcopalian of his day was supposed to.

Alexander Hamilton professed faith in the Trinity so he was not a Unitarian

So the most conservative was probably Washington and Hamilton
Then Adams, a fairly conservative Unitarian
Then Franklin, a moderate
Then Jefferson was the most liberal.

Even Biblical Unitarianism is liberal compared to most Christian denominations.

Answer 4

Unitarian Universalism is basically an organization that allows people of different beliefs to worship and interact together. They also tend to be very civic-minded churches that are very active in charitable and environmental groups within their communities.

The fact that a Buddhist and a Christian are members of the church DOES NOT mean that they believe in both religions or pray to the same gods. For the most part they do not.

They simply believe that every faith that is positive and life-affirming has value and should be respected. They also believe that no matter what path you choose God will make it possible for every person to find him/her, so that every person, no matter the faith will go to heaven.

It is definitely not a "one-world-church" kind of thing. There are many different faiths there, and there is no one person who dictates what happens in individual faiths. Everyone worships as they see fit. One world-church is just that. One church in which everyone believes the exact same things and agree to be under the control of one person or organization.

Unitarian Universalists that are Christian generally are one of two sects. Christian Universalists, who most certainly do believe in the divinity of Christ and in the "trinity" and use the Bible as a guide.

There are also those called Progressive Christians. They generally do NOT believe in the divinity of Christ or in the miracles described in the Bible. They see Christ as a great prophet and teacher and their faith is primarily designed to help them to be as much like Christ as they possibly can be.

Answer 5

One of the nice things about Unitarians is, if you're in a real minority religion, and you have no community to fellowship with, you can find a community at the Unitarian Church. I've only seen one Unitarian Church that did not honor this principal, I think that church wasdrifting from the Unitarian philosophy

Answer 6

I'm a sixth generation Universalist, now Unitarian Universalist. Unitarian Universalism is a non creedal, liberal religion which allows a broad range of religious expression.

One of the best ways to learn about UU is by visiting the Unitarian Universalist Association web site. Here are the principles and purposes that bind UU's together:

The Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association

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.

The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:

* Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
* Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion and the transforming power of love;
* Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
* Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
* Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
* 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.

Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.

The Purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association

The Unitarian Universalist Association shall devote its resources to and exercise its corporate powers for religious, educational and humanitarian purposes. The primary purpose of the Association is to serve the needs of its member congregations, organize new congregations, extend and strengthen Unitarian Universalist institutions and implement its principles.

The Association declares and affirms its special responsibility, and that of its member congregations and organizations, to promote the full participation of persons in all of its and their activities and in the full range of human endeavor without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, affectional or sexual orientation, age, language, citizenship status, economic status, or national origin and without requiring adherence to any particular interpretation of religion or to any particular religious belief or creed.

Nothing herein shall be deemed to infringe upon the individual freedom of belief which is inherent in the Universalist and Unitarian heritages or to conflict with any statement of purpose, covenant, or bond of union used by any congregation unless such is used as a creedal test.

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Another and perhaps more personal way is to visit a local congregation. Each congregation has its own unique "flavor", so you may want to try more than one, if there happen to be two or more in your area. You can find the link to the congregation finder below.

Unitarian Universalism isn't for the faint of heart, you have to be ready to take responsibility for your own spiritual growth. I hope you will find what you need amoungst us.

Answer 7

My aunt is a part of that faith. They basically believe anything and everything. You can be a Christian, Buddhist, Jew, Muslim, Pagan, etc and be a part of their church. They're a very liberal church spiritually and as far as political issues go.

Answer 8

sounds like they believe in anything and nothing all at the same time...how convenient for them

Answer 9

It's the beginning of the end, where everyone is right and all Gods are OK....that's fulfilling prophesy of the end time and sounds like the anti-Christ is getting everything lined up..right now, with that bunch of bull crap

Answer 10

They believe anything.

According to Green Genius below, I'm correct.