UU Principles & Sources

Climate March by Peter Bowden
(CC) Peter Bowden

Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote eight Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides.

These Principles are:

  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.
  8. Create a diverse Beloved Community by dismantling racism, white supremacy, and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience:

  1. 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;
  2. Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
  3. Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
  4. Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
  5. 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;
  6. 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.

These Principles and Sources of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) grew out of the grassroots of our tradition, were affirmed democratically, and are part of who we are.

Adoption of the 8th Principle

The 8th Principle was unanimously adopted by UUYO at the congregation’s Annual Meeting on January 17, 2021. The new principle states that the congregation affirms to:

“Create a diverse Beloved Community by dismantling racism, white supremacy, and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

History

We, the members and friends of UCE, are on an ongoing journey of creating a welcoming community through our anti-racism and anti-oppression work. Some of this work is done within our congregation and some is done within our Association and beyond our walls.

It has been over 20 years since delegates at the 1997 General Assembly (GA) voted to require the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) to intentionally commit to become a multicultural and anti-racist institution. This act came some 5 years after the passage of the 1992 Resolution of Immediate Witness which, in part, affirmed the “vision of a racially diverse and multicultural Unitarian Universalism.” The proposed 8th Principle is a call to action to explicitly address these multicultural and anti-racist goals.

The 8th Principle was written by Bruce Pollack-Johnson and Paula Cole Jones in 2013. Since then, over 102 congregations and UU organizations in 23 states and DC have adopted the 8th Principle. Black Lives of UU (BLUU) Organizing Collective affirms the adoption of the 8th Principle and encourages all Unitarian Universalists to advocate for the formal adoption of the 8th Principle within their congregations and by the UUA.

The UUA commissioned an Article II Study Commission in 2020 to review the Principles and Sources in Article II of the UUA Bylaws. This review includes the proposal to add the 8th Principle. Congregations are being encouraged to discuss the 8th Principle, adopt it, and live into it in order to create a groundswell of support and encourage the Study Commission to include the 8th Principle in its recommendations to GA in 2023.

Source: UCE’s Team 8th created this page by adapting material by Black Lives UU (BLUU) from this website. We are grateful for BLUU’s commitment to the 8th Principle and generosity in providing materials.