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
An early logo of the Unitarian Universalist Association which includes a flaming chalice, its most widely used symbol.
Abbreviation
UUism[1]
Type
Liberal religion[1][2]
Orientation
Mix of Protestant, Liberal, Progressive, and Pluralist[1][2][3]
Scripture
Officially none;[2] religious principles and moral teachings are drawn from the Six Sources[4]
Founder
Members of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America via consolidation[2][5]
Origin
May 1961[5]
Separated from
Christianity[2]
Congregations
1,048 worldwide
Number of followers
148,232 members of Unitarian Universalist Association congregations in the United States; 800,000 identify as Unitarian Universalist worldwide (including the U.S.).[6]
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] but rather draw inspiration and guidance from the six sources: personal experience, prophetic utterances, world religions, Jewish and Christian teachings, humanist teachings, and spiritual teachings.[4] 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 are two of the seventeen members of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists.[19]
^ abcdefghijklmnoCasebolt, 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.
^ abcdefghijklWillsky-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]
^ abcHoop, 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.
^ abcdMuck, 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.
^ abcHarvard 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.
^ abcdefgLee, 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.
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Christian theology, universal reconciliation (also called universal salvation, Christian universalism, or in context simply universalism) is the doctrine...
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syncretistic religious group with liberal leanings. In the United States, UnitarianUniversalism grew by 15.8% between 2000 and 2010 to include 211,000 adherents...
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predestination, and of biblical inerrancy UnitarianUniversalism (often referring to themselves as "UUs" or "Unitarians"), a primarily North American liberal...
attempt to organize Unitarian Universalism in Spain. Although the SUUE became a member of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU)...
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priest. There are organizations within the Unitarian Universalist Association (the primary organization of Unitarian Universalist congregations in the United...
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