Our Principles & Sources
Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote eight Principles, which we hold as values and moral guides. We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience.
Unitarian Universalists find inspiration from six Sources. The stories and lessons we offer in religious exploration are drawn from these foundations of our faith:
Our EIGHT
UU Principles
Adult & Children's Language
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:
1) The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
We believe that each and every person is important.
2) Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.
We believe that all people should be treated fairly and kindly.
3) Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.
We believe that we should accept one another and keep on learning together.
4) A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.
5) The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.
We believe that all persons should have a vote about the things that concern them.
6) The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.
We believe in working for a peaceful, fair, and free world.
7) The interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
We believe in caring for our planet Earth, the home we share with all living things.
8) Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.
We believe in building the Beloved Community, free of racism and oppression
A note about our 8th Principle
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is currently on track to consider adopting the 8th Principle at General Assembly in June 2024 (as required in the UUA Bylaws).
In the meantime, almost 300 UU congregations have voted to adopt the 8th Principle for their individual congregations.
At our UUCHV annual meeting in June of 2021, our congregation voted to adopt the 8th Principle. This vote is an important step in our congregation’s collective racial justice journey, as we learn to live into this principle in new ways.
UU Sources
of our Living Tradition
Adult & Children's Language
~ 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 that create and uphold life.
The sense of wonder we all share
~ Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion and the transforming power of love
Women and men long ago and today — people whose lives remind us to be kind and fair
~ Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life
The ethical and spiritual wisdom of the world’s religions
~ Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves
Christian and Jewish teachings which tell us to love all others as we love 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
The use of reason and the discoveries of science
~ 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
The harmony of nature and the sacred circle of life
Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations, we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.