Unitarian Universalist and Agnostic?

Question

Can someone explain these to me.
The beliefs and stuff.
And what are their views on Heaven etc.?

Answer 1

An Agnostic person doesn't know what they believe, and a Unitarian Universalitst person is open to many different possibilities

Answer 2

I am both, but most agnostics are not Unitarian Universalists, and most UUs are not agnostics.

Agnosticism is the most humble of faiths. We believe the nature and / or existence of God is beyond human understanding. That in turn means we feel atheists, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and Jews are fooling themselves, since they all believe they know the nature of God and how (in the case of everyone except the atheists) He wants to be worshiped.

We use the Sufi parable about the blind men and the elephant a lot.
http://www.stanuu.org/elephant.html

Anyone who is humble enough can be an agnostic. We are not organized. There isn't a "First Agnostic" church in your town the way there is a First Methodist or First Baptist.

A Unitarian Universalist is a member of a UU congregation. UUs are organized and recognized as a church. There are UU churches in the USA and Canada, and a few in Australia. There is one, just one in France, too. We are not as thick on the ground as, for instance, Catholics.

I'll paste my standard answer to "What is a UU?" below. Before I do, this may interest you. Last month I delivered a semon inspired by Yahoo! Answers; it is on-line at

http://www.stanuu.org/devoutuu.html


Below:

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I've been a UU since 1973, formally. I believed what they did before then, 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.

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. Some of our leaders are charismatic, some aren't; they 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

Your beliefs and spiritual growth are your responsibility. One should examine and question one's beliefs (and those of others) as an ongoing process throughout one's life. Beliefs will mature and change. Spirituality will mature and change.

I am a member of a Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. I imagine that there is a good deal of variation among UU groups around the country and the world and therefore my views may be agreeable for some UUs and quite disagreeable for others. This is not so surprizing though, given any group of humans.

Answer 4

unitarian universalist (i've been one for 25 years) has a set of principles and purposes.
here it is:

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations 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.

that being said many unitarian universalists are agnostic, some are athiest, some are humanist, some are even buddhist, hindu, sufi or christian. but they share the values above. but it is a church that welcomes agnostics and athiests as well as other faith groups.

Answer 5

UU's believe in being tolerant toward others' religious views. Agnostic means they do not see enough evidence either way - either for or against belief in god, it literally means 'don't know'.

Answer 6

First things first, agnosticism is a theological position and Unitarian Universalism is a religious denomination.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines agnostic as follows:

1: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god

2: a person unwilling to commit to an opinion about something

As far as Unitarian Universalism is concerned, 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.

Regarding Heaven in particular, I think you would find that most of us don't believe in an other worldly heaven. We believe that it is up to us to create heaven or hell hear on earth. Although, you will find UUs who have more "traditional" salvation beliefs.

The best way to find out if we are for you is to try us out.

Answer 7

well i know an agnostic person is not sure whether there is a a higher power or supreme being or not, and they are not sure about heaven or hell either!

Answer 8

http://www.uua.org <-- under the visitor area there will be the information you want.

An agnostic is one who believes that knowlege of the existence/attributes of god(s) is unknowable. (Merriam-Webster's definition.)

Answer 9

Both accept all beliefs as valid. Both do not accept bigotry as a part of god.