Throughout the ages, man has formed various religions in the attempt to discover the truth. These different religions have varied greatly in their beliefs, but almost all have set forth a doctrine, dogma, or creed of one sort or another. These are set in religions to help people find the truth. Unitarian Universalism takes a unique approach to defining truth. To them, only one person can find the truth for himself. This unique belief makes it worthy to examine its history, beliefs, practices, state in the world, and its comparison with Catholicism. Unitarian Universalism was founded in 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts when the two liberal Christian sects of Unitarianism and Universalism merged (Sewell). The two sects met in a council and after
…show more content…
With the lack of any official dogma or creed, Unitarian Universalists were encouraged to find out what the truth was to them, and as long as it did not disrespect anyone else, they were not turned away (Larson). This allows for a wide spectrum of beliefs in the church. However, many of the believers’ views tend to be more liberal (Religion Facts). For example, there are many beliefs about God including theism, atheism, or agnosticism. Most tend to not believe in God, but as a whole they believe that it is “better to be together and celebrate what binds us to each other” (Existence of a Higher Power… Universalism). The same principle applies to the afterlife. One is able to believe whether there is or is not an afterlife, but most believe that there is only life on Earth (Beliefs about Life… Universalism). They do, however, believe in an “original blessing” which makes us all good when we are born (Beliefs about Life… Universalism). On the topic of Scripture, Unitarian Universalists value all books equally and think that wisdom can be in all of them as well as in the world and their experiences (Sacred Texts in Unitarian Universalism). The church also tends to have very liberal views on social issues. They believe in the right to choose whether to have an abortion and that we should protect the environment to respect everyone’s right to it. They also believe that one should respect people of any sexual orientation since that is what the truth is to them, and one has to respect others’
With the lack of any official dogma or creed, Unitarian Universalists were encouraged to find out what the truth was to them, and as long as it did not disrespect anyone else, they were not turned away (Larson). This allows for a wide spectrum of beliefs in the church. However, many of the believers’ views tend to be more liberal (Religion Facts). For example, there are many beliefs about God including theism, atheism, or agnosticism. Most tend to not believe in God, but as a whole they believe that it is “better to be together and celebrate what binds us to each other” (Existence of a Higher Power… Universalism). The same principle applies to the afterlife. One is able to believe whether there is or is not an afterlife, but most believe that there is only life on Earth (Beliefs about Life… Universalism). They do, however, believe in an “original blessing” which makes us all good when we are born (Beliefs about Life… Universalism). On the topic of Scripture, Unitarian Universalists value all books equally and think that wisdom can be in all of them as well as in the world and their experiences (Sacred Texts in Unitarian Universalism). The church also tends to have very liberal views on social issues. They believe in the right to choose whether to have an abortion and that we should protect the environment to respect everyone’s right to it. They also believe that one should respect people of any sexual orientation since that is what the truth is to them, and one has to respect others’