While obedience, love, and even submission each play a vital role in the life of faith, my current conviction is that our defining discipline should be gratitude. In the same way that Judaism is defined by obedience, Christianity by love, and Islam by submission, I believe that Unitarian Universalism should be defined by gratitude.

The task of Humanism is to unfold the personality of men and women, to fit and qualify them for the best use of their natural powers, and the fullest enjoyment of the natural world and the human society around them. It conceives of religion as spiritual enthusiasm directed toward the enrichment of the individual life and the improvement of the social order.

The Unitarian side tells us that there is only one God, one spirit of life, one power of love. The Universalist side tells us that God is a loving God, condemning none of us, valuing the spark of divinity that is in every human being. So my version of what Unitarian Universalism stands for is, ‘One God, no one left behind.’

Unitarian Universalists share many scriptures, not just one, and a belief in the here and now, not just the hereafter. We value freedom, reason, tolerance and love as overarching values. We honor deeds, not creeds, as we try to live our faith. We believe everyone should be forthright about religious living by using that old ethic from high school math class, “show your work.” Ours is an evolutionary theology, understanding that language changes wit h time and growing awareness. In the final analysis, we believe we are saved by love and made holy by character.

I believe it is our connections—the “ties of love that bind us” to each other and to other living things—that make life meaningful. As humans we have a deep spiritual need for connection.  I believe it is from this sense of connection that compassion arises. It is the source of an innate morality and the essence of human spirituality.

Unitarian Universalism is cooperation with a universe that created us. It is a celebration of life. It is being in love with goodness and justice. It is a sense of humor about absolutes. Read More »

We need not think alike to love alike.