Which values do you hold highest?
We regard the highest values to be integrity, caring, compassion, social justice, truth, personal peace and harmony. Advancing these values is a major purpose of our congregations.

Does the UUA have a creed?
No. Although the bylaws of the association do contain a section on purposes and principles, it is not a statement of a religious creed.

Do you subscribe to any doctrines?
We have no specific doctrines to which members are expected to subscribe. However, the bylaws of the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) and member churches and societies do contain a Statement of Purpose and Principles (see page 18). These are the basis of a solemn agreement that member churches will support the UUA and that the UUA will support the individual churches.

What do you NOT believe?
We do not believe that any religious precept or doctrine must be accepted as true simply because some religious organization, tradition or authority says it is. Neither do we believe that all Unitarian Universalists should have identical beliefs.

Do some Unitarian Universalists have different beliefs than other Unitarian Universalists?
They certainly do. Since individual freedom of belief is one of our basic principles, it follows that there will be differing beliefs among us. Found in today's churches are humanism, agnosticism, atheism, theism, liberal Christianity, neo-paganism and earth spiritualism. These beliefs are not mutually exclusive--it's possible to hold more than one. While we are bound by a set of common principles, we leave it to the individual to decide what particular beliefs lead to those principles.

Do you believe in God?
We do not have a defined doctrine of God. Members are free to develop individual concepts of God that are meaningful to them. They are also free to reject the term and concept altogether.

Most of us do not believe in a supernatural, supreme being who can directly intervene in and alter human life or the mechanism of the natural world. Many believe in a spirit of life or a power within themselves, which some choose to call God.

Do you believe in a personal God?
A personal God is one with whom someone feels a one-to-one relationship, a deity who cares specifically for that individual and to whom that person can appeal directly. Few Unitarian Universalists would characterize God in such personal terms.

What role does God play in the Church?
In most services, there are few, if any, mentions of a deity. The emphasis is on issues of human growth, human potential and personal human issues that we all face in day-to-day living. There is also an emphasis on social, moral and ethical issues that confront us. Although subjects are presented from the religious perspective of the minister or the speaker, it is never assumed that all present have a common belief in God. God means different things to different Unitarian Universalists. To some, the term has little or no meaning. Whatever the case may be, we offer an accepting congregation where each person can discover what gives life meaning, purpose and direction.

Do you believe in the existence of spiritual beings?
Not in the sense of something that is disembodied. Most agree that there is a spiritual dimension to life that is connected to the physical, mental, emotional, and psychological aspects of life.

Do you believe in miracles?
We do not believe in miracles in any supernatural way since our ideas of God generally do not include a deity who has the ability to alter the workings of the natural world. Most Unitarian Universalists feel that the gift of life itself is sufficient miracle, and that we should live as fully, joyfully and responsibly as we can.

Do you believe in Jesus?
We do not believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, performed miracles and was resurrected from death. We do admire and respect the way he lived, the power of his love, the force of his example and his system of values. Most Unitarian Universalists regard Jesus as one of several important moral and ethical teachers who have shown humans how to live a life of love, service and compassion. Though some of us may question whether Jesus was an actual historical figure, we believe his teachings are of significant moral value.

How do you regard the Bible?
We regard the Bible as one of many important religious texts but do not consider it unique or exclusive in any way. We do not interpret it literally. We think some parts of it offer more truth and relevance than other parts. Although Unitarian Universalists respect the Bible and regard some of its content as great literature, it is not a central document in our religion.

Do you believe in life after death?
Very few Unitarian Universalists believe in a continuing, individualized existence after physical death. Even fewer believe in the physical existence of places called heaven or hell where one goes after dying. We believe immortality manifests itself in the lives of those we affect during our lifetime and in the legacy we leave when we die.

Do you believe in the concept of evolution?
Yes. We believe that more complex life forms have evolved from less complex life forms.

What are the bonds that unify Unitarian Universalists?
While there are no written or verbal doctrines designed for that purpose, we have both stated and unstated bonds which unify us. The stated bonds are the Principles and Purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association which we support individually and collectively. Among the unstated bonds are our mutual respect for each other and our appreciation of the many religious, philosophical and spiritual paths which our members pursue. We are bound together in our mutual concern for one another's well being, and our willingness to aid each other in time of need.

Life, Death, Salvation and Sin
How do you regard death and how does this affect the way you live?

Rev. F. Forrester Church has defined religion as "Our human response to the dual reality of being alive, and having to die." Most Unitarian Universalists regard death as the final and total end of our existence. Rather than seeing this in a morbid or despairing sense, we view the finality of death as a compelling reason to live life as fully as possible. Although we regard death as the end of our conscious life, we hope that we will live on in the minds and hearts of those persons whose lives we enriched during our earthly life.

How do you regard sin?
We do not believe that a person is born and enslaved in the manner that the doctrine of Original Sin teaches.

We believe that people are punished by their sins, not for them, and that the evil people do lives with them. We also believe that we are enriched by our virtues and that the good we do lives with us and helps make the world better. You could attend a Unitarian Universalist church for years and seldom hear the word sin.

How do you explain evil?
We have no quick doctrine-based answers to explain evil, pain and suffering, and the fact that life can be hellish at times. For all our optimism, most of us acknowledge there is a broken, fragmented or fallen side to humanity, and in each of our lives. While we admit the existence of this negative side of life, we try not to give in to it.

You will find many Unitarian Universalists involved in efforts to make this a more just, peaceful, sane and livable world at local, national and global levels. We strive to act and think in ways that will allow all humans to reach their potential.

And even if we cannot explain why people suffer, we can try to help them when they do.

Can Unitarian Universalists go to heaven or hell?
Since there is no way to know for sure if we go any place when we die, very few, if any of us believe in the physical existence of a place called heaven or hell.

What about salvation? Can a Unitarian Universalist be saved?
Salvation is not a word we use frequently.

We do not believe people are born into a state of sin from which they must be saved in order to avoid spending an eternity suffering in hell.

Since we believe in neither original sin nor hell, we do not feel a need to be saved from either.

Do you believe in a Redeemer?
No. We believe we should be judged by how well we live our lives and serve others, not in what a redeemer will do for us. We respect religious and spiritual leaders such as Jesus, Moses and Buddha for what they can teach us about living, not as redeemers in the traditional sense.

If you do not fear God, hell, or eternal damnation, what is your incentive to act morally and responsibly?
We feel that people who live moral and ethical lives usually do so because they have a sense of responsibility to themselves and to others. Our incentive is that we want to live in a more sane, peaceful, and just world than the one we have at present, and we wish to pass on a better world to succeeding generations.

To hold that moral and ethical living only occurs because people fear hell or damnation is to demean those who seek to lead morally and ethically responsible lives.

Definitions and Differences
How do you think most churches would define a Christian?

Classical Christian doctrine would describe a Christian as a person who believes:

• that God, the Ultimate, the Divine (call it what one wishes) was uniquely revealed to humans in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, also called Jesus the Christ
• A that Jesus was God on Earth, who came to save human beings from the state of sin into which they were born (Original Sin) by his death on the cross (the Atonement), and then triumphed over death (the Resurrection). In response to this act of God, humans are to give thanks to Him, accept Jesus as their Savior and dedicate their life to Jesus by following his teachings and example
• that miracles can happen through a supernatural deity who can alter the workings of the natural world

For Protestants, the authority for their religion is the Bible. For Catholics the authority is the teachings of the Catholic Church. Liberal Christianity (from which the Unitarians and the Universalists evolved) either downplays or dismisses the idea of Original Sin, and sees Jesus as one sent from God to show us how to live better lives. Liberal Christians view God as a force for good rather than a supernatural being. They are more flexible in their interpretation of Scripture, reading it more in its historic context and giving symbolic rather than literal interpretation to many passages.

Are Unitarian Universalists Christian?
The answer to this question varies among Unitarian Universalists. Unitarians and Universalists, once liberal Protestant Christian denominations, drew away from their Christian base to embrace the principle of individual freedom of belief. Although some churches are still liberal Christian, today only about 20 percent of Unitarian Universalists would call themselves Christian. Thus Unitarian Universalism cannot be considered a totally Christian religion.

How do you differ from Christians?
A primary way we differ is that we do not regard Jesus as a unique revelation of God. Most Unitarian Universalists (even Unitarian Universalist Christians) would reject a literal interpretation of accepted Christian beliefs such as the Virgin Birth, the miracles of Jesus and the Resurrection. While Unitarian Universalist Christians would accept a symbolic interpretation of these events, most Unitarian Universalists view Jesus as a moral and ethical teacher and no more than that.

What do Unitarian Universalists and humanists have in common?
Because ours is a very humanistically-oriented religion, most Unitarian Universalists regard themselves as humanists in one sense or another. But, like the term God, humanism also means different things to different Unitarian Universalists.

Basically, humanism means that we humans are responsible for our destiny for better or worse and we cannot rely on an outside power or deity to determine our individual or collective fate. Humanism is also an affirmation of the power of the human mind and the human spirit.

There are both secular and religious humanists. Secular humanists do not believe in any kind of deity; they find little, if any, value in religious language, stories, myths or symbols of any religious tradition.

The religious humanist, while holding to the above definition of humanism, does not completely disavow the idea of God. Usually defining God as a power deep within themselves, they also find certain messages or themes in religious stories that provide them with understanding and guidelines for human living. There are both secular and religious humanists within our church family, and we make room for both.

What is the difference between a Unitarian and a Universalist?
From an institutional perspective there has been no difference since 1961 when the Unitarians and Universalists merged.

What might be considered the watch words of Unitarian Universalism?
Traditionally they have been freedom, reason and tolerance. While today's Unitarian Universalists still revere these three words, they have added three more words: spirit, grace and love.

What are some characteristics of Unitarian Universalists?
The typical Unitarian Universalist is well-educated, moderately affluent, and professionally employed. Most of our local churches are working hard to attract a more diverse membership. We want to be welcoming congregations, free of economic, religious, racial, ethnic, or sexual discrimination.

Is Unitarian Universalism really a religion?
In dealing with beliefs and theology, it's important to note that Unitarian Universalism is a way of being religious rather than a religious doctrine. For us, religion is an ongoing search for meaning, purpose, value and spiritual depth in one's life. We believe that individuals are entitled to make their own search, and that not all persons (not even all Unitarian Universalists) are going to share the same beliefs.

Ours is a non-creedal, non-doctrinal religion which affirms the individual's freedom of belief. For this reason it is not possible to give a blanket answer to whether or not Unitarian Universalists believe in God, Jesus, the Bible or life after death. Although we do not all believe the same thing about these and other matters, we do believe that each person has the integrity and the ability to come to terms with their religious beliefs in a way that is right for that person.

What is your attitude toward other religious faiths such as Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism?
We believe there is wisdom in most, if not all, of the world's religions. We feel each is valuable for what it can tell us about ourselves and our world, and how its members find religious meaning and direction.

Do Unitarian Universalists believe in a universal religion?
We believe in the universality of religion in that we recognize all humans ask questions such as "Why am I here? What is the meaning and purpose of my life? Why do I have to die?" Realizing all religions seek to provide answers to questions like these, we think there is much wisdom in their many answers. Few Unitarian Universalists contend that there is, or ever will be, a single universal religion that is right for everyone.

History
Is Unitarianism Universalism an American religion?

Its origins are in Europe and the Protestant Reformation. However, contemporary Unitarian Universalism is an American religion which took root and flourished in New England in 1750-1800 as a liberal spin-off from the Congregational Church.

What is the history of Unitarian Universalism?

While both Unitarianism and Universalism grew out of the left wing of the Protestant Reformation in Europe during the 16th century, both took on an American flavor when they were introduced in the United States. Both religions originated in part as a protest against two Calvinist doctrines: total depravity (Original Sin) and Predestination (the doctrine of the elect--the belief that God has determined whether you will go to Heaven even before you were born).

The Unitarians, while recognizing the reality of evil, did not believe that any person was born in a state of total corruption from which they could be rescued solely at the whim of an arbitrary God. They believed that all people had the potential for good or evil depending upon both the life they chose to live and upon the social environment in which they were born and raised.

The Unitarians were Christians who believed that people should interpret the Bible in the light of human reason. Although Jesus and the Bible were central to their faith, they regarded Jesus as more of a moral and ethical teacher than a supernatural being. They did believe in the divinity of Jesus, that he was the son of God but not the same as God. The term "Unitarian" originally meant "non-Trinitarian" a belief in one unified God rather than a three-part entity.

The term Universalism originally meant that every person could be saved (universal salvation) as opposed to the salvation of a few whom God would select to save. Although Christian, the Universalists did not believe a loving God would condemn people to an eternity of hell. They believed that the souls of all dead people would eventually be reconciled to this loving God, although it would take a longer time for some to get to heaven than others.

Both groups had their American origins in the late 18th century. Unitarian and Universalist churches were established mostly in New England but during the 19th century, Unitarianism spread west and many churches were organized in California.

Throughout the 19th and into the early 20th centuries, Unitarianism and Universalism were liberal Christian alternatives to the more harsh and dogmatic forms of Christianity of that time. During the 20th century, both religions began to move away from their Christian origin toward a religion based on individual freedom of belief. The Universalists retained their Christian identity longer than the Unitarians.

In today's congregation, it's common to find a variety of beliefs: humanist, agnostic, theist, atheist, liberal Christian, etc. Over the past decade, feminist theology has made an impact: our hymn books are gender inclusive, half our settled ministers are women and a feminist-inspired earth spirituality has emerged.

The term Unitarian affirms that we believe there is a unity of all life, what the UUA Principles and Purposes calls "the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." The term Universalism indicates universality of religion itself. In the UUA Principles and Purposes, we affirm that you can find wisdom in all the world's religions.

When did the merger of Unitarianism and Universalism take place?

The difference between the two movements ran much more along class and cultural lines than theological ones. The Unitarians originally attracted white collar people: professionals, educators, cultural leaders, etc. The Universalist congregations were comprised mostly of blue collar working class people such as farmers and fishermen.

By the middle of the 20th century, these distinctions had blurred, making a merger both possible and financially necessary for the survival of the two religions. After several years of discussion and negotiation during the 1950s, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was formed in 1961.

How is Unitarian Universalism distinctive from other religions?
We have no religious creed nor do we require members to adhere to any doctrines. A religion based on individual freedom of belief, we encourage all members to pursue their own religious and spiritual journeys.