The roots of the Unitarian movement lie principally in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. At that time, people in many countries across Europe began to claim:
- The right to read and interpret the Bible for themselves.
- The right to seek a direct relationship with God, without the mediation of priest or church.
- The right to set their own conscience against the claims of religious institutions.
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion - that is, a religion that keeps an open mind to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places. We believe that person experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion, and that in the end religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in ourselves. We are a ‘non-creedal' religion: we do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed.
We believe that everyone has the right to seek truth and meaning for themselves, and the fundamental tools for doing this are your own life experience, your reflection upon it, your intuitive understanding and the promptings of your own conscience.
The Unitarian Universalist Association has attempted to list principles to which most Unitarians would subscribe. This is not a creed, but rather an attempt to provide a sense of the sort of people who choose Unitarianism as their faith.
1. We believe in the freedom of religious expression. All individuals should be encouraged to develop their own personal theology, and to present openly their religious opinions without fear of censure or reprisal.
2. We believe in the toleration of religious ideas. All religions, in every age and culture, possess not only and intrinsic merit, but also a potential value for those who have learned the art of listening.
3. We believe in the authority of reason and conscience. The ultimate arbiter in religion is not a church, or a document, or an official, but the personal choice and decision of the individual.
4. We believe in the never-ending search for Truth. If the mind and heart are truly free and open, the revelations which appear to the human spirit are infinitely numerous, eternally fruitful, and wondrously exciting.
5. We believe in the unity of experience. There is no fundamental conflict between faith and knowledge, religion and the world, the sacred and the secular, since they all have their source in the same reality.
6. We believe in the worth and dignity of each human being. All people on earth have an equal claim to life, liberty, and justice - and no idea, ideal, or philosophy is superior to a single human life.
7. We believe in the ethical application of religion. Good works are the natural product of a good faith, the evidence of an inner grace that finds completion in social and community involvement.
8. We believe in the motive force of love. The governing principle in human relationships is the principle of love, which always seeks the welfare of others and never seeks to hurt or destroy.
9. We believe in the necessity of the democratic process. Records are open to scrutiny, elections are open to members, and ideas are open to criticism - so that people might govern themselves.
10. We believe in the importance of a religious community. The validation of experience requires the confirmation of peers, who provide a critical platform along with a network of mutual support.
You can find out more about Unitarianism in the UK through the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.
