UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST
The Unitarian Universalist Association is a liberal religious
organization, serving the "U-U" churches of North America. Its churches
and fellowships total approximately 250,000 members. The UUA was formed
in 1961-MAY-11 from the merger of the Unitarian and Universalist Churches.
We have listed the Unitarian Universalist Association under three headings
in our "Descriptions of Religions" page:
- Small Non-Christian Groups because the most U-U members consider
themselves to be non-Christian
- Christian Groups because about one in four members identifies
themselves as a Christian
- Other Belief Systems because many members do not believe in (or
question) the existence of a deity
History of the Movement
The term Unitarian has traditionally had two religious
meanings:
- the monotheistic belief which was widespread in the early
Christian churches, that God is a unity. The exact nature and makeup of
deity occupied the thoughts of Christians during the first few centuries CE.
There were many anti-Trinitarian movements at the time: Monarchianism,
Sabellianism and Patripassianism. In 325, the Trinitarian belief that God
is composed of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was established.
Unitarianism then became a heresy and was suppressed.
- a religious movement generally featuring a faith without dogma,
a belief in the inherent goodness of people, and the obligation for each
member to seek out and develop their own system of beliefs and ethics.
It is this second meaning of Unitarian that we will use here.
The term Universalism, has also had two religious meanings:
- the belief that the God described in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old
Testament) is the deity for all humanity, rather than just for the
Israelites.
- a religious movement which promoted the concept that every person
will go to heaven after death. This is in contrast with the historical
belief of other Christian churches that one's natural destination is
torment in hell; only those who repent of their sins and accept Christ
as Lord and Saviour will end up in heaven. Today, the latter beliefs
are still held by conservative Christians; liberal Christianity is drifting
towards the beliefs of Universalism.
It is the second meaning of Universalism that we will use here.
Unitarian Universalists value the teachings of:
- Origen (circa 185 CE) who stressed Jesus' humanity, and believed that
God would receive all people (even demons) into heaven
- Michael Sevetus who wrote "On The Errors of the Trinity" which
led to his execution at the stake in 1553
- Writers, scientists, and others who promoted religious tolerance,
including Locke, Milton, Newton and Florence Nightingale
- Politicians, such as John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson,
Adlai Stevenson and William Howard Taft
- John Murray, who in 1779 became the minister of the first Universalist
church in the US
- Joseph Priestly, chemist and Unitarian Minister who established the
first Unitarian Church in the US in 1796
- Hosea Ballou, author (in 1805) of "A Treatise on Atonement" which
argued against the existence of miracles, the Trinity and of Hell. He is
sometimes referred to as "The Father of American Universalism".
- Preachers and theologians Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Ellery Channing
and Theodore Parker
- Julia Ward Howe, a fighter in the abolition of slavery
- Clara Barton, who worked for penal reform
- Susan B. Anthony, who advocated women's rights
The first church to call itself Unitarian was established in Transylvania,
in 1638. During the 17th and 18 centuries, Universalist groups were
formed in England. An organization which was to become the Universalist
Church of America was formed in 1785. By 1810, there were 20 Unitarian
churches in England. In the US, there were many churches which were
Unitarian or professed Unitarian beliefs; theirs was largely a reaction
to the rigidity of Calvinism in New England. These churches formed the
American Unitarian Association in 1825. The first Unitarian church in Canada
was established in Montreal in 1842. In 1961, the Unitarian and Universalist
churches merged.
Unitarian Universalist Beliefs
The two religious movements that became the "U-U" Association were
originally viewed by the public as Christian churches who were defined
largely by their heretical beliefs about the nature of God and the
afterlife. However a gradual change started during the 19th century and
continues today. Emerson was a powerful force in this change. His Divinity
School Address emphasized the importance of intellectual freedom,
and reason. Most modern day Unitarian Universalists share the following
beliefs: that
- each person, because of her/his humanity inherently has dignity and worth
- each person seek their unique spiritual path, as based upon their
personal life experience, the use of reason, the findings of science and
their fundamental beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the
universe.
- the prime function of a congregation is to help the individual, through
cooperation with others, to grow spiritually
- worth exists in all the great religions of the world, and in their
sacred texts
- there should be no barrier to membership, such as compulsory adherence
to a creed
- their lives, their congregations and association are governed by
the concepts of democracy, religious freedom and religious tolerance
- much of their efforts should be directed towards civil rights:
achieving equality of treatment for everyone, regardless of race, gender,
sexual orientation, etc. They have played a major role in these battles,
in spite of their relatively small numbers.
Some U-U members and their churches regard themselves as liberal Christians.
Others would describe themselves as non-Christians. In 1995-JUN, the
Association acknowledged that its sources of spirituality are: Christianity,
Earth Centered Religions (Afro-American religions, Native American
spirituality, Wicca, etc), Humanism, Judaism, other world religions,
prophets, and the direct experience of mystery.
Groups Associated with the UUA
- Unitarian Universalist Service Committee: This was formed in 1939
in response to the need to help people escape from the fascist countries.
A parallel group in Canada is the USC, formed after World War II by Lotta
Hitchminova. Each has since evolved to a agency no longer affiliated with
the U-U movement, but still gaining much financial and other support from
that source. Both groups are active around the world, in the areas of:
health care (including family planning), the status of children and women,
poverty reduction, human rights, the environment, etc.
- Interweave: This is an organization affiliated with the UUA
and composed of Unitarian Universalists who promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender concerns. The UU Association was the first significant
religious organization in North America to open an office to in support
of equal rights for (and acceptance of) Gays and Lesbians. This has
expanded in recent years to include Bisexuals and Transsexuals.
- "CUUPS": The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans was
formed in 1985 to promote the "practice of contemporary Pagan and
Earth [-centred] and nature-centered spirituality". They help U-U's
who are also Neo-Pagans to network together; they develop material
to inform and facilitate Neo-Pagan services at individual UU churches;
they promote communications among religions etc. They have a quarterly
newsletter Pagan NUUS and an annual journal The UU Pagan.
- Church of the Larger Fellowship The CLF is an outreach of the
UUA which supports Unitarian Universalists throughout the US and Canada
who do not have a Unitarian congregation or fellowship nearby. They
publish a newsletter Quest.
- Other Groups: There are Unitarian interest groups for
Judaism, Buddhism and for the ethical treatment of animals. Beacon
House is its publishing arm.
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