Unitarian Universalism is a marriage of two religious traditions, both emerging during the Protestant Reformation. Unitarianism was founded in the 16th century by people who questioned the notion of the Trinity, viewing it as neither Biblical nor theologically sound. They contended that God was One—Unitarian as opposed to Trinitarian.
Universalists questioned the Calvinist doctrine that claims only a elect few are “saved.” Universalists believe that all people carry within them a divine spark, and they affirm the essential goodness of human beings. They maintain that every person on earth can live a spiritually fulfilling life, and that a religious community’s role is to inspire us to seek guidance from that internal core of goodness.
Unitarian Universalists see the Holy, by whatever name one chooses to call it, as a loving and abiding presence. They have outgrown their European roots to include the wisdom that uplifts love and possibility in all of the world’s major faith traditions and in many secular sources of inspiration, including:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder and, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to open our spirits to the forces that create and uphold life
- Words and deeds of prophetic women and men who urge us to confront oppression with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love
- Jewish and Christian teachings that call us to love our neighbors as ourselves
- Humanist teachings that counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science
- 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.
[published October 13, 2023]