What We Believe
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion born of the Jewish and
Christian traditions. We keep our minds open to the religious questions
people have struggled with in all times and places. We believe that
personal experience, conscience, and reason should be the final authorities
in religion. In the end religious authority lies not in a book, person,
or institution, but in ourselves.
(Excerpt from We Are
Unitarian Universalists, pamphlet #3047)
Copyright © Unitarian Universalist Association, 1995
Our Principles
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association,
covenant to affirm and promote
• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth
in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process
within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice
for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which
we are a part.
Click here for sermons
from the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus on each of
the principles.
Our Sources:
The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:
• 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;
• 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;
• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical
and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's
love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
• 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.
• 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.
See the Unitarian
Universalist Association Website for more information about Unitarian
Universalists including books and pamphlets.
