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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.
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