It took a long time for the Unitarian Universalist Association to form. Several centuries, in fact. Some would say more than a millennium. Not that folk were trying all that time. The actual dialogue about a merger of Universalists and Unitarians was seeded by the Rev. Henry Whitney Bellows, in the late 19th century, though few came around to his way of thinking. A skilled administrator, who had organized the United States Sanitary Commission For President Lincoln during the Civil War, which was a precursor to the Red Cross, Bellows saw possibilities of strength of message and works by the joining of American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America. The cultural divide at that time between the primarily rural Universalists and Harvard centered Unitarians was too great for any serious steps to be taken toward a merger. Unitarian minister Thomas Starr King,\contemporary of Bellows and son of an itinerant Universalist preacher, described the divide simply: "Universalists think that God is too good to damn them. Unitarians think they are too good to be damned."
So decades passed through two World Wars, the suffrage movement, the Great Depression, racial strife and the chilling of the "Cold War." Through these times the deep seated optimism of liberal religion toward the goodness of humankind was challenged and questions of the presence of God more pronounced. In addition, people were moving into cities, depleting the Universalist rural churches and a potentially disabling argument between theists and humanists was brewing in Unitarian circles.
An intuitive consensus was growing between the two denominations, both in service of their survival amidst diminishing numbers, and with the sense that the liberal religious traditions, which voice the power of human engagement in the health of the world, the love of Creation for the health of the earth and trust in the wisdom of Life for the health of our Being needed to be heard, preserved and emboldened.
A Council of Liberal Churches was formed in 1953, with intentions toward a merger of the two denominations. It was a difficult and spirited endeavor that came to fruition in May of 1961. The Unitarian Universalist Association was formed. Dana Greeley, the former president of the American Unitarian Association, was elected the first president of the UUA.
The merger did not bring about a set of core beliefs, but rather an agreement of shared principles and corporate purposes. As you might imagine, if you've had any experience in wordsmithing any corporate statement for Unitarian Universalists, the work of consensus was arduous and almost derailed the merger altogether. Here are the original 6 principles that were finally adopted in 1961:
In accordance with these corporate purposes, the members of the Unitarian Universalist Association, dedicated to the principles of a free faith, unite in seeking:
Any words or images there that don't feel inclusive (asks the female minister)? "Love to man", "dignity of man", "ideals of brotherhood"? It was the Unitarian Universalist Federation of Women who, fueled by that realization, inspired the rewriting of our principles and purposes, which began in 1981, taking four years for the adoption of our current principles and purposes in 1985. But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's important that we go way back into our deep heritage to understand the whole approach of "principles and purposes". Unitarianism and Universalism, known by many different names through history, are religions that, since the first centuries of Western Religion after Jesus' death have been considered heresies. Heresy comes from the root meaning, to choose. Heretics are those who claim they can choose what they believe, which goes against the authority of orthodoxies which corporately choose for you what you should believe. When orthodoxies have a link to political power, those who choose differently are shunned in society, which has been expressed in a variety of ways, including ex-communication, exile, imprisonment, torture and execution.
The belief in a saving truth beyond dogma remained in pockets of communities and sometimes by brave, lone religious pioneers throughout Europe and, eventually North America. The call to the freedom of religious belief and the responsibility of world community stemmed back to Jesus' life and ministry and his affirmation that we each are the light of the world. There were no creeds, no determined orthodoxies until the third century, just shy of 300 years after Jesus' death. Our forebears witnessed, sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes graphic ways, how adherence to a creed can lead to a kind of dogmatism and tyranny that stops one's religious growth and journey toward understanding this one world and common life that we all live. They realized that giving authority to a proscribed way of believing often took the authority and responsibility away from the individual, creating a divide between what one says one believes and how one lives one's life. They came to understand how creeds can divide people from one another, encourage horrific acts of violence and condone systems of injustice.
Our forebears could see that some who live by creeds fulfill lives of peace and justice, challenging themselves toward love of god and other. However it was clear that creeds can invite mindless practices, willful ignorance toward difference and domination over vulnerable and less politically powerful people. Earl Morse Wilbur, Unitarian historian, wrote of our heritage as a history of the promotion of principles rather than a progression of creeds. He summarized the early Unitarian stirrings in Euro-Asia as the claiming of freedom, reason and tolerance. Our forebears proclaimed in various ways throughout history freedom of belief rather than bondage to creeds, use of reason, of one's inner resources of intuition and thought, rather than a reliance on an external authority that tells one what to think and feel; and tolerance of differences, even celebration of such, rather than an insistence on conformity. These main principles were believed to create an atmosphere that could bring about a free and responsible search for meaning and foundation for manifesting a sense or consciousness of God in one's life.
Liberal religion embraces liberty—freedom of religious expression. There are many assumptions that uphold that way of believing. One is that we are each capable of living a righteous life; that our inner truth, when given room, can dictate wise, holy choices. Two, that our lives are a gift and a responsibility to live fully and freely with one another. In other words, our lives matter and are of equal importance to anyone else's life: no more or less relevant. Three, that truth is a living presence, that revelation is not sealed—it's not done for all time—its available for new and current understandings. And because truth is ever revealing itself in all corners of the world, and through moments of insight, it is a presence beyond full understanding, a mystery to be lived, embraced and honored. It follows, then, that a wide range of beliefs would come from this approach to a religious life. It was the coming together, however, that was not as fluid. There have been times that people would come together for a cause of justice, abolition, women's suffrage, various campaigns of civil rights. However, coming together for common action for the common good in general was difficult and more rare with such emphasis on the freedom of the individual and the right to be different.
And yet there is also the understanding that one's faith is not for oneself alone, but for the living of one's life with others. There is also the basic need for community—company in the vulnerable work of understanding the meaning of our lives. We need help when we get off track from our ideals. We need inspiration when our energies are low. We need another's perspective, when we have run out of ideas or feel stuck in our doubt or confusion. The presence of wisdom, gathered and shared, can keep us on track within the vast, awe-inspiring, expanse of love and consciousness. The yearning for religious community continued.
It became clear that more could be made manifest, that the spreading of the good news of the common good and the hope within Creation could be communicated if there was a way to work and learn and grow together as one faith. So with this understanding of the limitations of creeds, our forebears embraced the work of covenant as a way to come together in a common purpose. A framework was needed to give the larger community of individual souls room enough to grow both within their own lives and as part of a society that needs guidance toward the good. In fact, a place to come together and remind us of our better selves, prod us into our courage and strength and mirror to us our failings of spirit is essential to a healthy religious life.
James Luther Adams, 20th century Unitarian theologian, speaks of covenants as rooted in affection and gratitude, rather than regulation and punishment. They are both a gift and a responsibility. Covenants are entered into by voluntary consent, not by a contractual obligation toward an end. A covenant is a living document that is humble toward evolution. A contract leaves the arrangement static and bound to a point in time, the point of agreement. If one breaks a covenant and refuses to do the work of reparation, then a relationship is lost. If one breaks a contract, the repercussions are spelled out and finite. A covenant claims: "I will abide with you in this common endeavor, be present as best as I can in our becoming." It calls for mutual attention, trust and encouragement.
Okay. Let's go back to the 1970's, when there was a stirring in the Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation, for more inclusive language—language that would assume full and free participation of women, the original statement of principles was found lacking. It was a time, as well, when the Association lost a large number of members due to a poorly executed attempt at Black empowerment. Mired by latent racism, infighting and financial insecurity, many left the movement in witness of a crisis of courage. Eugene Pickett, then president of the UUA sensed a need for reformulation of purpose. "The deeper malaise lies in our confusion as to what word we have to spread," he wrote in 1979, "The old watchwords of liberalism—freedom, reason, tolerance—worthy though they may be, are simply not catching the imagination of the contemporary world. They describe a process for approaching the religious depths, but they testify to no intimate acquaintance with the depths themselves. If we are ever to speak to a new age, we must supplement our seeking with some profound religious finds."
Which echoes a recent challenge by a colleague, "If you were arrested for a being a Unitarian Universalist, would there be any evidence?"
The work for redrafting our principles and purposes began in 1981, spearheaded by the UU Women's Federation and then launched into the general assembly. Four years later, a new statement of principles and purposes came into near consensus (with one dissenting vote), and so existence. It included the seven principles we have listed now, along with five of the "living traditions in which we share" that is added in the full text as a nod to the many heritages that brings us all together. The sixth tradition, that of earth-centered religions, was added in 1995.
As we are a religion that invites learning and growing, one of the new resolutions created during that time was for the membership of the Unitarian Universalist Association to review the principles and purposes every 15 years. The review is occurring right now and is open for comment until mid October. (I have information for those interested in weighing in.)
The purpose of these principles? To engender communities where one has the freedom to be and believe, where one understands the responsibility to be and believe and the task to co-create a place where that is possible. In language from our Christian heritage, it is the work of creating a beloved community, one that manifests the peaceable realm on earth.
With the claiming of inner truth, equal worth and dignity, participation in life, promise toward each other and faith in the Truth beyond our individual making we covenant together.
The purpose is to find the fullness of being, to insist on such fullness for all being and to make room for sacred knowing to manifest in our lives. It is to empower a way of life that can include a child's wonder at a sunset proclaiming "yeah God!" to a transcendentalist opening her heart to affirm, "I accept the Universe!", to a scientist gathering his awe in gratitude for the Mystery of it all. This resonance, this energy of praise and responsibility, justice and fierce love will reverberate into the depths of humanity and join in the chorus of goodness and beauty and truth.
So may it be. Amen.
Copyright © 2008 Lisa Ward. All Rights Reserved.