WHAT WE BELIEVE
Unitarian Universalism invites you to bring your whole self: your full identity, your questioning mind, your expansive heart.
Together, we create a force more powerful than one person or one belief system. As Unitarian Universalists, we do not have to check our personal background and beliefs at the door: we join together on a journey that honors everywhere we’ve been before.
Our beliefs are diverse and inclusive. We have no shared creed. Our shared covenant (our seven Principles) supports “the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” Though Unitarianism and Universalism roots draw from liberal Christian traditions, this responsible search inspires us to learn from diverse, multi-cultural, spiritual, ethical and moral traditions and philosophies.
OUR SEVEN PRINCIPLES
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.
THE 8TH PRINCIPLE
Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.
Note: Many UU congregations have voted in support of adding the 8th Principle, including UUSF. The incorporation of the 8th Principle will be voted on by the denomination in June 2023.
OUR LIVING TRADITION 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 people 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.