Unitarian Universalism
Over the decades the two groups converged in their liberal emphasis and style to become the Unitarian Universalist Association
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During the first three centuries of the Christian church, believers could choose from a variety of tenets about Jesus. Among these was a belief that Jesus was an entity sent by God on a divine mission. Thus, the word Unitarian developed, meaning the oneness of God. Another religious choice in the first three centuries of the Common Era (CE) was universal salvation. This was the belief that no person would be condemned by God to eternal damnation in a fiery pit. Thus, a Universalist believed that all people will be saved. In North America, Unitarianism and Universalism developed separately. Universalist congregations began to be established in the 1770s. Other congregations, many established earlier, began to take the Unitarian name in the 1820s. Over the decades Unitarianism and Universalism converged in their liberal emphasis and style, and in 1961 they merged to become the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Population:
World - 218,404
Tenets:
* Everyone should be encouraged to develop a personal philosophy of life.
* Everyone is capable of reasoning.
* No one needs any other person, official or organization to tell them what to believe.
* Everyone should be able to present religious opinions openly without fear of censure or reprisal.
* Everyone should be tolerant of the religious ideas of others.
* Truth is not absolute. It changes over time.
* Everyone should continue to search for truth.
* Everyone has an equal claim to life, liberty and justice.
* People should govern themselves by democratic processes.
* Ideas should be open to criticism.
* Good works are the natural product of good faith.
Links
Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Unitarian Universalist Association
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