Unitarian Universalism

I'm a Jew, but I've been told my beliefs reflect Unitarian Universalism because I accept beliefs from various other religions (especially Native American ones). I looked it up online, and all I found out was it is a liberal, somewhat intellectual religion, and it seems like you pick and chose a lot of beliefs or something. There has to be more to it than that, though... Any information on it?

 

I grew up in a UU church and honestly, I'm still not sure what they believe. I'm a Buddhist now, but I think they are mostly atheists. Its mostly a Secular Humanism kinda thing. Its very liberal, and it has its roots in Christianity, but when I went there as a kid, I never heard anything about hell, and God was only mentioned kinda abstractly. You can really believe what you want to, and its mostly a place where people just talk about spirituallity and ocassionaly give sermons. The chruch I went to was almost all old people so i stoped going when I was like 13, but I bet you can meet more people interested in Native American spirituality if you feel like cheking out a church or something.

 

I did a quiz and found out that apparently I'm one. Bizzare considering I'd never heard of it till then.

Don't know any more about it though.

 

someone told me that UU is for people who ask questions like "why?" about religion. so yeah, i guess it´s pretty liberal.

 

As far as I understand it, it is a system that believes that every religion, every belief system has something to offer to the world. It's aim is to take everything good about every religion/belief system and put it into one.


Blessings

Sebbi

 

I was raised a Unitarian. On Seinfeld they once said, "Aren't Unitarians just Jews who eat ham?" It boils down to whether or not Jesus was the son of God. Jews deny that he was, while Unitarians question whether he was. Unitarians do study the teachings of Jesus though and consider them to be good life lessons.

 

Unitarian Universalism is the only path to God and everyone else is going to hell

 

This was in today's comic strip Kudzu, about a church softball game:

 

I've been attending the UU church in Atlanta for a while and find it to be filled with very open-minded, forward thinking, accepting people, which makes me want to keep going back. There is no talk of heaven or hell, guilt, sin, the devil, etc. They do not believe in the trinity. They take the positive aspects of the worlds religions, from Christianity, Judiasm, Islam, Buddhism, and blend that into Sunday sermons. Last week, the sermon was on "Holy Listening" and how to truly listen to others, as that is what all of us want and need, to be heard AND understood.

Another sermon was taken from the teachings of Buddhism, and how to quiet your mind through meditation, in order to better live our daily lives with less stress.

I love going to this church, as it is not guilt or sin-based. There is no "saving" of souls or baptismal rituals. The religion is not for everyone, as so many folks need more "guidelines", rituals, ceremonies, commandments, etc.

These are the 7 principles which UU's follow:

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Our Principles:

We, the members of The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta and other congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association covenant to affirm and promote:

1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations, we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.

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