Our Beliefs

In Unitarian Universalism, you can bring your whole self: your full identity, your questioning mind, and your expansive heart.

Unitarian Universalists believe more than one thing. We think for ourselves, and reflect together, about important questions:

Though Unitarianism and Universalism were both liberal Christian traditions, this responsible search has led us to an inclusive spirituality: from scriptural wisdom to personal experience to modern day heroes.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES

Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote seven Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides:

Our beliefs are diverse and inclusive. We have no shared creed. Our shared covenant supports “the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.”

We are united in our broad and inclusive outlook, and in our values, as expressed in our seven Principles. We are united in shared experience: our open and stirring worship services, religious education, and rites of passage; our work for social justice; our quest to include the marginalized; our expressions of love.

KIDS PRINCIPLES

The Tapestry of Faith children’s program articulates our seven Principles in simpler language.

We believe… 

  1. that each and every person is important.
  2. that all people should be treated fairly and kindly.
  3. that we should accept one another and keep on learning together.
  4. that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.
  5. that all persons should have a vote about the things that concern them.
  6. in working for a peaceful, fair, and free world.
  7. in caring for our planet Earth, the home we share with all living things.

SIX SOURCES

We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience:

  1. Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
  2. Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
  3. Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
  4. Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
  5. Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
  6. 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.

These seven Principles and six Sources of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) grew out of the grassroots of our tradition, were affirmed democratically, and are part of who we are.

OUR SYMBOL: THE FLAMING CHALICE

A flame within a chalice (a cup with a stem and foot) is a primary symbol of the Unitarian Universalist faith tradition. Many of our congregations kindle a flaming chalice in gatherings and worships and feature the chalice symbol prominently.

Hans Deutsch, an Austrian artist, first brought together the chalice and the flame as a Unitarian symbol during his work with the Unitarian Service Committee during World War II. To Deutsch, the image had connotations of sacrifice and love.

To Unitarian Universalists today the flaming chalice is a symbol of hope, the sacred, the quest for truth, the warmth of community, the light of reason, and more.

We light a flaming chalice in worship to create a reverent space for reflection, prayer, meditation, and singing.

Learn more about Unitarian Universalists from a variety of beliefs and backgrounds:Atheist/Agnostic, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, and more.