Non-creedal liberal religion
This article is about the liberal religious movement. For the Christian theology which includes a central belief in the unitary nature of God, see
Unitarianism . For the Christian theology that includes a central belief in universal reconciliation, see
Christian universalism . For other uses of Unitarianism, see
Unitarian . For Universalism as a general philosophy, see
Universalism .
Unitarian Universalism (otherwise referred to as UUism [1] or UU )[7] [8] [9] is a liberal religious movement [1] characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning ".[10] [11] Unitarian Universalists assert no creed ,[2] but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth .[1] [3] [12] Unitarian Universalists do not have an official, unified corpus of sacred texts [2] . Unitarian Universalist congregations include many atheists , agnostics , deists , and theists ; there are churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world.[1] [12]
The roots of Unitarian Universalism can be traced back to Protestantism [2] [13] and liberal Christianity ;[1] [2] more specifically, it can be traced to Unitarianism and Christian Universalism .[2] Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love.[3] [12] Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions .[1] [12] [14] The beliefs of individual Unitarian Universalists range widely; they can include, but are not limited to, religious humanism ,[1] [2] [12] [15] Judaism ,[4] Christianity ,[4] Islam ,[16] Hinduism , Sikhism , Buddhism , Taoism , syncretism ,[1] neopaganism ,[1] [12] atheism ,[1] agnosticism ,[1] New Age ,[1] [12] omnism , pantheism , panentheism , pandeism , deism , and teachings of the Baháʼí Faith .[17]
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was formed in 1961 through the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association , established in 1825, and the Universalist Church of America ,[5] established in 1793.[2] The UUA is headquartered in Boston , Massachusetts; and serves churches mostly in the United States . A group of thirty Philippine congregations is represented as a sole member within the UUA. The Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) became an independent body in 2002.[18] The UUA and CUC were two of the seventeen members of the now defunct International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (1995–2021).[19]
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Casebolt, James; Niekro, Tiffany (March 2005). "Some UUs Are More U than U: Theological Self-Descriptors Chosen by Unitarian Universalists". Review of Religious Research . 46 (3). Cham, Switzerland : Springer Verlag : 235–242. doi :10.2307/3512553 . ISSN 2211-4866 . JSTOR 3512553 . S2CID 147127153 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Willsky-Ciollo, Lydia (2015). "Epilogue: Seeking Authority in Contemporary Unitarian Universalism" . American Unitarianism and the Protestant Dilemma: The Conundrum of Biblical Authority . Lanham, Maryland : Lexington Books . pp. 241–245. ISBN 978-0-7391-8892-7 . LCCN 2015952384 . [permanent dead link ]
^ a b c Hoop, Katrina C. (Spring 2012). "Being a Community of Individuals: Collective Identity and Rhetorical Strategies in a Unitarian Universalist Church". International Review of Modern Sociology . 38 (1). International Journals: 105–130. ISSN 0973-2047 . JSTOR 43499872 .
^ a b c Muck, Terry C. (2016). "Mission Trajectories in the Twenty-First Century: Interfaith Roads Best Traveled" . In van Engen, Charles E. (ed.). The State of Missiology Today: Global Innovations in Christian Witness . Downers Grove, Illinois : IVP Academic . p. 187. ISBN 978-0-8308-5096-9 . LCCN 2016037715 . The Unitarian Universalist Association , a Christian denomination, seeks wisdom from six sources : personal experience, prophetic utterances, world religions , Jewish and Christian teachings, humanist teachings, and spiritual teachings.
^ a b c Harvard Divinity School: Timeline of Significant Events in the Merger of the Unitarian and Universalist Churches During the 1900s
^ "UUA membership rises for first time since 2008" . November 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2020 .
^ "Believe" . Introduction. United Kingdom: Unitarian. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014.
^ "Unitarianism and Unitarian congregations" . South Africa: Unitarian. Retrieved 8 November 2014 .
^ "Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources" . Canadian Unitarian Council. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014 .
^ "4th Principle: A Free and Responsible Search for Truth and Meaning" . Unitarian Universalist Association . Retrieved 11 August 2021 .
^ "7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part" . UUA. 15 September 2014.
^ a b c d e f g Lee, Richard Wayne (Winter 1995). "Strained Bedfellows: Pagans, New Agers, and "Starchy Humanists" in Unitarian Universalism". Sociology of Religion . 56 (4). Oxford and New York : Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association for the Sociology of Religion : 379–396. doi :10.2307/3712196 . ISSN 1759-8818 . JSTOR 3712196 . LCCN 93642782 . OCLC 30932266 . S2CID 170915346 .
^ Buehrens, John A. (8 March 2010). "Sacred Texts in Unitarian Universalism" . UUA.org . Retrieved 28 February 2022 .
^ "Unitarian-Universalism" . Adherents . Major religions ranked by size. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link )
^ Murry, William R. (2017). "History and Core Beliefs: One Hundred Years of Unitarian Universalist Humanism" . In Gibbons, Kendyl L. R.; Murry, William R. (eds.). Humanist Voices in Unitarian Universalism . Boston : Skinner House Books. pp. 3–9. ISBN 978-1-55896-783-0 . LCCN 2016039272 .
^ "Muslim Unitarian Universalists" . 15 September 2014.
^ Our Minister , Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Los Gatos, 6 September 2013, archived from the original on 1 December 2020, retrieved 2 February 2015
^ "CUC-UUA Transition – Canadian Unitarian Council" . cuc.ca . Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2014 .
^ Daniel McKanan, "Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism", Religion Compass 7/1 (2013), 15.