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What
is Unitarian Christianity?
Briefly
described, Unitarian Christianity is, like other forms of
Christianity, a religion that asserts the divine character,
divine spirit, and divine foundation of the teaching of Jesus
Christ. It places particular emphasis on reason, conscience,
and free will in religion and uses contemporary methods to
understand myths and symbols of the past. It is a progressive
religion, founded on and patterned after the elemental
Christianity of Jesus and his disciples. Like that model, it
seeks ever to form surer and nobler understandings of God and
of the world by a conscientious search for truth. It lays
great stress on the ethical responsibility of individuals, of
the Church, and of the human race. Unitarian Christianity is
distinguished from other Christian belief systems in four main
respects:
1)
the belief that human nature in its present condition is
neither inherently corrupt nor depraved, but exactly as God
created it and intended it to be from the beginning, capable
of both good and evil;
2)
the conviction that no religion has a monopoly on holy spirit
or theological truth;
3)
the belief that the Bible, while inspired of God, is written
by humans and therefore subject to human error;
4)
the rejection of traditional doctrines that malign God’s
character or veil the true nature and mission of Jesus, such
as the doctrines of predestination, eternal damnation, the
Trinity, and the vicarious sacrifice or satisfaction theory of
the Atonement.
Other
belief systems may hold to one or more of these views, but
Unitarian Christianity is unique in upholding all of them. It
is the rejection of the Trinity doctrine that gave rise to the
name “Unitarian,” although disavowal of the Trinity
teaching is hardly the emphasis of Unitarianism. Unitarians
have great respect for all forms of Christianity, but are
convinced that their Christianity best reflects Jesus’ own
vision.
(Excerpted from An
Explanation of Unitarian Christianity. For a full
discussion, click
here.)
A
Unitarian Confession:
We
believe in one God, the Creator and Preserver of all things,
And
in Jesus Christ, the one Lord of the Church,
whose teachings
and life form the standard of our faith and practice,
And
in the holy spirit, the influence of God within us;
We
believe in the divine element in conscience,
In
free will and the responsibility that comes with it,
In
the inspiration and sanctity of Scripture,
In
the forgiveness of sins,
In
God's universal love for all humankind,
And
in the future advancement of the whole human family to
holiness and happiness.
Unitarian Christianity
and You
Unitarian
Christianity is alive and well in America. It may not exist as
a separate denomination anymore, but it is a belief system
adhered to, knowingly or unknowingly, by many, and there are
several individual churches that have a Unitarian theology and
liturgy. Unitarian Christians are to be found in almost every
Christian denomination. The wonderful truths discovered by
reverent and studious persons in times past (and whose
writings you can obtain a taste of here) shine as brightly as
ever and continue to shed light into people’s lives. The
American Unitarian Conference wishes to honor that Unitarian
legacy. The AUC is not a church, nor is it a denomination; it
is an advocate of the Unitarian tradition and an association
of individuals and congregations who carry Unitarian views. So
Unitarian Christianity is a belief system it provides
information about and promotes. Our mission is to educate the
general public about the nature of theistic Unitarianism and
its history, to nurture and promote Unitarian Christianity
within and across Christian communities, and to provide
support and fellowship for individual Unitarians, in whatever
religious system in which they happen to find themselves. It
is our desire, to help build a sense of community among the
Unitarian Christians who are spread throughout different
denominations around the country. Through the AUC, Unitarian
Christians can let each other know that they are not alone.
Whether you are a Unitarian with a lower case or upper case
“u,” you will be at home here and find valuable
information and resources that may serve to build your faith.
If, after perusing this
site and other Unitarian Christian websites, you like what you
see and believe the beliefs and principles espoused here
reflect your own sentiments, here is what we suggest:
1. Join
the American Unitarian Conference.
Involvement in this national organization will put you in
contact with other Unitarian Christians around the country.
You will also be given a subscription to The American
Unitarian, a great source of information and inspiration
for our wonderful faith.
2. Periodically visit our website and make
use of the excellent materials we have available here.
Familiarize yourself with Unitarian history and teaching.
Benefit by the words of Unitarian theologians of earlier days.
3. Subscribe to some other Unitarian
Christian journals available from other sources. We recommend The
Unitarian Christian Herald, which is obtainable through
the Unitarian
Christian Association (UK) and The
Unitarian Universalist Christian, which is obtainable
through the Unitarian
Universalist Christian Fellowship.
4. Come to the AUC annual meeting each
year. This will give you further opportunity to worship with
others of like faith and to learn from some leading religious
thinkers of our time.
5.
If you are not currently affiliated with a church, or are
unhappy with the one you do attend, you might find a nearby
congregation that reflects a Unitarian (or at least a
Unitarian-tolerant) theology and begin attending services. As
of right now, Unitarian
Christian congregations are rare, but
there may be one in your local area. See our Congregations
page for details about AUC-affiliated
congregations, which are either Unitarian Christian or
welcoming of Unitarian Christians. If none of these are in
your area, you might find a chapter of the Unitarian
Universalist Christian Fellowship with
which you might associate. Another possibility is to attend a
nearby church of the Disciples
of Christ, a liberal Christian
denomination that does not emphasize the Trinity in its
services.
If
you are interested in helping us here at the AUC:
1. Tell others about our website. Do
you have any friends or associates that you think might be
sympathetic? Let them know. You could also include a
reference to our site in your email signature.
2. Get in contact with us at info@americanunitarian.org.
At this early point in the history of the American Unitarian
Conference, we do not have a paid staff. Accordingly,
everything that gets done is done by volunteers. The more
people give of their time, the more we can do. We need
help distributing information about the AUC and setting up
speaking engagements to make presentations about the AUC,
scanning old Unitarian essays and sermons into electronic
format, editorial assistants and writers for our journal, and
help in developing liturgical materials and a hymnal for AUC
groups and fellowships.
3. Start having local meetings. You could do this by
organizing them through meetup.com, or if
you are interested in forming a congregation in your area and
will serve as a contact for others who are interested, let us
know and we will add your name to the list of Congregation
Exploratory Committees. |
