What is Unitarian Universalism?

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Our Values

Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love. Inseparable from one another, these shared values are:
Interdependence. We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it. We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.
Pluralism. We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology. We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.
Justice. We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.
We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.
Transformation. We adapt to the changing world. We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.
Generosity. We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope. We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.
Equity. We declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion. We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities.

Unitarian Universalism in One Minute or Less

by the Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz, former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association and currently Executive Director, Amnesty International USA

What is Unitarian Universalism?

Ours is a religion based on the conviction that the meaning of life, its mystery and its grandeur, outspills every human attempt to capture it in a single sentence. Most religions teach that life’s meaning has been revealed in a single person or event, metaphor or myth. For Jews it is the Covenant. For Buddhists it is Enlightenment. For orthodox Christians it is the grace of God as manifested in Jesus Christ. But for Unitarian Universalists it is all of these and more. We believe that the glory of life is so great that it defies every attempt to squeeze it in to a narrow category. That is why ours is a creedless faith.

But if you have no creed, does that mean that Unitarian Universalists can believe anything?

Not at all. It is important to distinguish between belonging to a church and being a Unitarian Universalist in faith and practice. We have no creedal test for membership in our congregations. People can join without affirming a particular set of beliefs. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have a whole series of affirmations based upon our traditions and our formal Principles and Purposes which define what a practicing Unitarian Universalist is. I would say that if someone did not believe in the use of the democratic process, for example, or the inherent worth and dignity of every person, he or she could belong to one of our congregations but his/her beliefs would fall outside the range of what makes for Unitarian Universalism.

Well, what exactly do Unitarian Universalists believe anyway?

Let me give you some examples of what I think the vast majority of Unitarian Universalists would affirm…

We reverence the natural world, what our Principles and Purposes call “the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part,” and reject the notion that creation can be divided into natural and supernatural realms;
We believe that human beings are responsible for the future; that history is in our hands, not those of an angry God or inexorable fate;
We believe that life’s blessings are available to every one, not just those who can recite a certain catechism;
And we believe that those blessings are made manifest to us not just in the “miraculous” or extraordinary but in the simple pleasures of the everyday.

Do Unitarian Universalists believe in God?

A majority of us are comfortable with the use of the word “God” but many Unitarian Universalists would describe themselves as agnostics or even atheists. Those of us who do speak of God do so in a way very different from the conventional. Very few Unitarian Universalists, for example, understand God as a Person or Being who intervenes in human affairs. Some of us would identify God with the larger cosmic pattern or process which has made creation possible in the first place. Others would see God as the source of life’s gracious gifts which come to us unbidden and undeserved. Still others would experience God (or the Goddess) as that which inspires us to value ourselves and honor the world around us. What is important is not what language we use to express our deepest spiritual longings; what is important is that we take those longings seriously.

What do Unitarian Universalists believe we must do to be saved?

Live life with as much passion, integrity, and care as we can muster and remember that every single one of us is on a short and perilous pilgrimage. If we can gladden the hearts of those who travel with us, if we can be swift to love, “salvation,” whatever it be, will take care of itself.