UU Principles & Sources of Wisdom
Our beliefs are diverse and inclusive. There isn’t a required or shared creed. Instead, we share a covenant, a promise, regarding our behavior and actions in an effort to create a beloved community, filled with compassion, helping all to thrive in a just world.
Our congregations covenant to affirm and promote seven principles, which we hold as moral guides. As we strive to live our principles, our living tradition draws on teachings from six sources of religious wisdom.
The Seven Principles
1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person
2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations
3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large
6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part
The Six Sources
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 women and men, 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