Unitarianism

Image by courtesy of FreeFoto.com (see links)

The Unitarian Faith

The Unitarian faith originated in the Middle Ages very largely in the Eastern European countries but centered in Transylvania. The Dissenting church spread to the United Kingdom so that in 1662, Parliament passed the Act of Uniformity with the intention of curbing Nonconformist worship. On the eventual repeal of this Act, the first Unitarian Church in England was opened by Theophilus Lindsey in Essex Street, London.

Whilst the Unitarians, throughout their history, have always been proud to be considered radical in terms of philosophy and theology, there is, nowadays, an ever-developing sense of change in the beliefs of its members. As a consequence, a range of beliefs in terms of theism and religious aspects together with thoughts on social and humanitarian concerns occupy the thoughts of the congregations. Whilst much of the material for services is taken from Judaeo-Christian sources, reference is also paid to the wisdom of, say, The Budda, Schweitzer and other renowned philosophers from the World's religions.

Above all, members of Unitarian churches strongly accept the Freedom to determine one's own beliefs, the Reason behind those beliefs and the Tolerance to accept the beliefs of other people.

What do Unitarians Believe?

This is a question which, understandably, may be one of the first asked by those unfamiliar with Unitarianism. It is a difficult question to answer, as Unitarianism provides no creeds, no simple prescriptions about what people should believe and no simple answers. Different Unitarians believe different things, and it requires study, thought, contemplation and, perhaps, meditation and prayer to begin to see that this does not lead to unstructured and undefined chaos. Rather, it provides new opportunities to explore a relationship with God or develop a deeper appreciation of "the ground of our being" - or however this might be described - without fear of transgressing "correct doctrine", but also without the intellectual detachment to which pure scientific investigation might lead.