Unitarian Universalism affirms and promotes seven principles and six values, each emerging from a central value of love. We gather our congregations in covenant, grounded in our values and principles, rather than in a specific theology of statement of belief.

 

 

The Six Values

Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love. Inseparable from one another, these shared values are:

• Interdependence: We honor the interdependent web of all existence and acknowledge our place in it.

• Pluralism: We are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.

• Justice: We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all feel welcome and can thrive.

• Transformation: We adapt to the changing world.

• Generosity: We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.

• Equity: We declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion.

 

The Seven Principles

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person.

• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.

• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth relations.

• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process congregations and in society at large.

• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
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The seven Principles and the six Values of the Unitarian Universalist Association emerge from a variety of sources. We refer to these sources in our statement of “Inspirations:”

 

Direct experiences of transcending mystery and wonder are primary sources of Unitarian Universalist inspiration. These experiences open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives. We draw upon, and are inspired by, sacred, secular, and scientific understandings that help us make meaning and live into our values. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. We respect the histories, contexts, and cultures in which these sources were created and are currently practiced. Grateful for the experiences that move us, aware of the religious ancestries we inherit, and enlivened by the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom.

 

We also refer to the six sources of our living tradition:

 

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

• Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

• Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;

• Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.