When my wife and I decided that we wanted to have children, I decided it was time to find a religious community to bring them up in. While I am and always have been a highly spiritual man, organized religion, ancient doctrine, and a set of beliefs I am required to follow blindly are not things I've been willing to accept for quite some time. I knew finding a community that meshed with my beliefs, gave me room to discover the truth for myself, and would provide an environment for my family that I would feel comfortable in wasn't going to be an easy task. So when we found the Horizon Unitarian Universalist Church, we were both quite elated.
Recently, a friend asked just what it meant to be a Unitarian Universalist (or UU, for short). I'm sure that many of you are asking the same question now; wondering what beliefs a man with my charm, intellect, talent, artistry, passion, compassion, openness, and way of life might hold true. Well, maybe not in so many words, but I'm sure your curious anyway. So, as I set out to tell her, I set out to tell you now.
The problem is, there really isn't a one sentence answer to what a Unitarian Universalist believes. In fact, many UUs regularly seek an "elevator speech" or "playground explanation" of our beliefs for this very occasion and yet no true winner has surfaced. Despite that, I'll give it a shot myself.
UUs are bound together by service and compassion and not by creed. We engage in a continual, free, and responsible search for truth and meaning and are not bound by any particular dogma or set of traditions. We believe in the interdependent web of all existence and the inherent worth of every person. We covenant together in support of one another, in social service, and in compassion for all living things.
Well, that worked out better than I'd hoped, but it's still not great. Because we are free to, for the most part, believe whatever we want, giving a definition of our beliefs outside of this very loose core is impossible. However, with the understanding that not all UUs believe this way, I can speak in terms of what "most UUs" believe.
If a UU believes in Salvation, Enlightenment, or Eternal Life, then most of them would say that the key to it is truth, compassion, and good works. Sometimes this is as loose as "be a good person" or as strong as a belief some cycle of reincarnation that continues until one has done "enough" or learned "enough" — and, of course, everything in between.
If a UU believes in a deity, it generally centers around a central source of creation. There is a belief that God is both above us, within us, and around us. God is creator and child. This is not at all opposed to the generic Christian belief in "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit", except that most Christians (and certainly most Catholics) are a lot more specific and adamant about that division.
Most UUs do not believe in any doctrine or sacred writings. We do not hold the Christian Bible or any other writings to be infallible or a single source for truth. Instead, we treasure these writings as the inspired works of inspired people. For instance, while most UUs would not consider themselves "Christian", they do believe that Jesus of Nazareth existed, and was a man filled with compassionate and love for all of human kind. In fact, many UUs hold strongly to his teachings. However, they are also inclined to seek the truth in them, knowing that even his words have suffered the interpretation, translation, and personal agenda of the human hands that have passed them down over time.
Most people are content in staying in their current religious homes even when they don't fully agree with its teachings because they know they believe in the end result — in what it represents. UUs are, generally, those people that decided to break away and find something that suited them. Most people don't realize that UUs exist or what they are all about. When they finally do, they realize they've been a UU all along.
I hope that makes some sense. I'm not one to push my beliefs or spirituality on any one, and I won't tolerate other beliefs being force on me. However, my spirituality is strong and I'm always willing to share with people who are interested and listen to those who have good news to share.
