excerpts taken from Unitarian Universalist Association's Website
• "I want a religion that respects the differences between people and affirms every person as an individual."
• "I want a church that values children, that welcomes them on their own terms-a church they are eager to attend on Sunday morning."
• "I want a congregation that cherishes freedom and encourages open dialogue on questions of faith, one in which it is OK to change your mind."
• "I want a religious community that affirms spiritual exploration as a way of truth."
• "I want a church that thinks globally and acts locally on the great issues of our time: world peace, women's rights, racial justice, homelessness, gay and lesbian rights and protection of the environment."
WE BELIEVE
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion born of the Jewish and Christian traditions. We keep our minds open to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places.
We believe that personal experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion. In the end religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in ourselves. We put religious insights to the test of our hearts and minds.
We uphold the free search for truth. We will not be bound by a statement of belief. We do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed. We say ours is a noncreedal religion. Ours is a free faith.
We believe that religious wisdom is everchanging. Human understanding of life and death, the world and its mysteries, is never final. Revelation is continuous. We celebrate unfolding truths known to teachers, prophets and sages throughout the ages.
We affirm the worth of all women and men. We believe people should be encouraged to think for themselves. We know people differ in their opinions and life-styles and believe these differences generally should be honored.
We seek to act as a moral force in the world, believing that ethical living is the supreme witness of religion. The here and now and the effects our actions will have on future generations deeply concern us. We know that our relationships with one another, with other peoples, races and nations, should be governed by justice, equity and compassion.
© 1992 Unitarian Universalist Association
UUA Pamphlet Commission Publication
At the opening of Unitarian Universalist worship services, many congregations light a flame inside a chalice. This flaming chalice has become a well-known symbol of our denomination.
It unites our members in worship and symbolizes the spirit of our work.
Source: Unitarian Universalist Association and the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
With its historical roots in the Jewish and Christan traditions, Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion -- that is, a religion that keeps an open mind to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places. We believe that personal experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion, and that in the end religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in
ourselves. We are a "non-creedal" religion: we do not ask anyone to ascribe to a creed.
(Excerpts from "We Are Unitarian Universalists", pamphlet #3047)
Copyright Unitarian Universalist Association, 1995
5/22/95
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