| Unitarian- Universalist Unitarian Universalist Beliefs The two religious movements that became the "U-U" Association were originally viewed by the public as Christian churches who were defined largely by their heretical beliefs about the nature of God and the afterlife. However a gradual change started during the 19th century and continues today. Emerson was a powerful force in this change. His Divinity School Address emphasized the importance of intellectual freedom, and reason. Most modern day Unitarian-Universalists share the following beliefs: that - each person, because of her/his humanity inherently has dignity and worth - each person seek their unique spiritual path, as based upon their personal life experience, the use of reason, the findings of science and their fundamental beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. - the prime function of a congregation is to help the individual, through cooperation with others, to grow spiritually - worth exists in all the great religions of the world, and in their sacred texts - there should be no barrier to membership, such as compulsory adherence to a creed - their lives, their congregations and association are governed by the concepts of democracy, religious freedom and religious tolerance - much of their efforts should be directed towards civil rights: achieving equality of treatment for everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. They have played a major role in these battles, in spite of their relatively small numbers. Some U-U members and their churches regard themselves as liberal Christians. Others would describe themselves as non- Christians. Groups Associated with the UUA - Unitarian-Universalist Service Committee: This was formed in 1939 in response to the need to help people escape from the fascist countries. A parallel group in Canada is the USC, formed after World War II by Lotta Hitchminova. Each has since evolved to a agency no longer affiliated with the U-U movement, but still gaining much financial and other support from that source" Both groups are active around the world, in the areas of: health care (including family planning), the status of children and women, poverty reduction, human rights, the environment, etc. - Interweave: This is an organization affiliated with the UUA and composed of Unitarian-Universalists who promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender concerns. The UU Association was the first significant religious organization in North America to open an office to in support of equal rights for (and acceptance of) Gays and Lesbians. This has expanded in recent years to include Bisexuals and Transsexuals. - "CUUPS": The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans was formed in 1985 to promote the "practice of contemporary Pagan and Earth [ -centred] and nature-centered spirituality" .They help U-U's who are also Neo-Pagans to network together; they develop material to inform and facilitate Neo-Pagan services at individual UU churches; they promote communications among religions etc. They have a quarterly newsletter Pagan NUUS and an annual journal The UU Pagan. - Church of the Larger Fellowship The CLF is an outreach of the UUA which supports Unitarian-Universalists throughout the US and Canada who do not have a Unitarian congregation or fellowship nearby. They publish a newsletter Quest. - Other Groups: There are Unitarian interest groups for Judaism, Buddhism and for the ethical treatment of animals. Beacon House is its publishing arm. Unitarian Resources on the Net - The UUA maintains a WWW site at htt12:f/www.uua.org::l080.L - A private WWW site is maintained by Alan Hamilton at htt12://www.Qrd.org:/Qrd/www/uua/index.html |
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