desire for enlightenment, and many choose a new path. This is the path that led to the creation of the religious denomination of Unitarian Universalism. The faith of Unitarian Universalism was brought into existence upon the formation of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) from the merger of the two liberal Protestant denominations of Unitarianism and Universalism in Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1961. No single person may be claimed to as the founder of this faith. At the time of founding
The History, Theology, and Social Justice Advocacy of Unitarian Universalism There is a witticism about Unitarian Universalism that begins, “Do you belong to an organized religion?” To which the congregant replies, “No, I’m a Unitarian Universalist.” As with most jokes, there is an element of truth to the wisecracking punchline. Unitarian Universalism is a non-dogmatic, creedless religion that embraces a diverse theology—including meaningful traditions from a number of faith systems, along with
An Exploration of Unitarian Universalism The Unitarian Universalist (UU) religion began as two separate belief systems: Unitarianism and universalism. Unitarians believed there is only one God, and Jesus, a human, was beneath him; as such, they maintained that people “must follow Jesus, not worship him” (Harris xxii). Universalists believed that God loved everyone; this belief was instrumental in forming their belief that every religion contained some truth, and that every person, regardless of their
What America Means to Me The question “What America Means to Me” has a complicated answer. America has so many different meaning to each individual. To me it means freedom, home, opportunity, safety, and thriving. Freedom is one of the thing that as Americans we are lucky enough to be given at birth. It is a right that i am thankful and blessed to be given. This is one of the most sacred things for all Americans. At the start of the Eagles vs Vikings game a couple of week ago, they had a bald
Wise Blood, by Flannery O’Connor, is an fascinating yet disturbing novel. Wise Blood is a story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old soldier who comes home from World War Two and gets trapped in a fight between faith and disbelief. He becomes captivated by a preacher named Asa Hawks and his bastard fifteen-year-old daughter, Lily Sabbath. In a way to prove how much of a pessimist Motes is, he founds The Church of God Without Christ, but is still frustrated that he is unable to lose his faith in
Religious Takeover In present day United States there is an abundance of problems which attribute to many unhappy citizens. One of those problems being the great influence that religion has on politics; some might say that it’s taking over. While many conservative republicans and devout Christians might argue that allowing religion to influence our politics helps boost the morale of a morally-challenged population, religion, when mixed with politics, only causes deep divides between different political
What is an American? In “What is an American” by Hector St John de Crevecoeur, the writer described many notable differences that he discovered when he first arrived in America. He marveled at the many differences in structure, diversity, and the overall equality of this new land. Crevecoeur’s early America was much different than the land that he once knew. America gave him a sense of freedom, hope, and possibility. He wrote letters in hope to inspire all who were looking for a change in their
Youth ministry is a career that I feel will suit me very well. I love being around kids and spreading the Word to the young people of the world. I want to touch every person I work with both spiritually and emotionally. I will use my knowledge and love of God to do so. Youth Ministry is not only a career…it is a calling. Youth ministry originated during the industrial revolution period, in the 19th century. When young men and women started moving into the more central urban areas of cities to start
The media is defined as a major institution in society which plays a critical role in the lives of the citizens. They are able to reinforced our values and norms as well as destroy them. Religion is defined as, “the belief in worship of superhuman controlling powers, especially a personal God or Gods”. With that said, religion is very important to society not only in the United States, but around the world. Religion is used to defined many things such as people value, norms, believes and certain
The emergence of religious television exemplifies the church’s widespread use of the media for religious influence. It is a useful tool for religious persuasion due to its ability to generate interest in new viewers by assimilation into regular television networks and encouragement of strong emotions due to acting and judicious film technique. Much like the past use of icons and printed word, televangelism has the ability to influence viewers’ opinions but does so by creating an illusion of personalization
545 million people have called themselves Americans since this country began in 1776, and around 1.2 million people have died in war for this country. (Source 1)(Source 2) So what did these people live for? What did they die for? They did not live or die for 3,537,436 sq. miles of land. (source 3) They did not call themselves American after any person, object, or place. They called themselves American because they wanted to take on the American identity. An identity shaped by its past, modeled by
3. Religious Equality 3.1 Universalism Universalism is “the belief that all people are chosen by God for salvation [and follows] the doctrine of universal election and universal redemption” (OED). Professor Nina Baym adds that universalist doctrine teaches that “God was rational”, He “would never doom most of his creatures to eternal damnation” and “all human beings constituted a single family under God’s loving fatherhood” who could all enjoy a “paradisiacal afterlife” (vi). Not only did the Sargent
During the ensuing fight for independence during the American Revolution, Jefferson looked to the future and for a way of securing religious freedom as well. The growing dissent against the Anglican Church, by groups like Presbyterians and Baptists, found new numbers thanks to the Great Awakening, which raised religious zeal and succeeded in converting many people away from the Church of England. At least, the dissenters of the Anglican Church in Virginia had their growing numbers behind them at
In this essay, I will explain how religion is sometimes used to mobilize against LGBT people, how some people’s religious and personal doctrines conflict regarding LGBT issues, and how religious belief and community can be a positive force for the LGBT community. In history, mainstream Abrahamic religions have had a negative relationship with LGBT persons. Beginning during the Hebrew exodus of Egypt, the purity codes documented in the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Leviticus explicitly stated a slew of rigid
Unitarian Universalist The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a church that is actually a combination of two other churches. The Universalists, organized around 1793 and the Unitarians, organized around 1825. The two sects consolidated into the Unitarian Universalist Association in the year of 1961. (UUA.org, 2007) The Unitarian church began in Europe when a man names Michael Servet. Servet was a doctor, editor and geographer who in the 1500s wrote several books which questioned the ideas
Universalism Within Romans 18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death
Greg Stier is the executive director, president, and originator of Dare 2 Share Ministries International as of 1991. Stier has instructed over 30,000 Christian adolescents around North America in how to live out their faith in confidence and with boldness. In 1997 he was the guest speaker at the Youth for Christ’s DC/LA events, and he revisited that speakership at Y2K the Fellowship of Christian Athletes forum. “Youth ministry became his full-time focus on April 20, 1999, due to the Columbine High
Universalism is the theological view that, at the end, all humankind will be saved or reconciled with God eventually. Universalism has many variations and different definitions. But one of its most common and significant definitions is the speculation that all humankind will be saved ultimately by God's grace and no one will be condemned by God, eternally. This concept of Universalism has been around for many years, this understanding of Christian Universalism dates back to medieval time, even to
teachings and beliefs. This notion is a common occurrence felt by many different people during their lifespan. A lot of organized religions admire the idea of doubt within an individual's journey toward their inner truth. Religions such as Unitarian Universalism and Christianity are prime examples of organized religions that view the idea of religious doubt as an essential component within an individual's journey. There is a range of research that shows that all effects of religious doubt are not
Introduction An old history teacher of mine once said that people are incapable of seeing the endless things they share when these common aspects of life stand in the shadow of their few differences. The differences of which he spoke promote unwarranted bias and prevent the advancement of all of humanity and even promote acts of war. Chief among those differences is religious belief. People treat people with a different religion with such great intolerance. They will either discriminate or commit