How We Belong

Alex Jensen

Unitarian Universalists can and do believe many different things about life’s biggest questions; about God, the greater mystery, about what happens to us when we die. Though you can’t be a Unitarian Universalist if you don’t agree about some of the more important parts of this faith.

You can’t be a UU, or you won’t be much of a good one, if you cling to prejudiced or oppressive views of others; if you in any way believe that someone else is somehow inferior or anything lesser than human. You can’t be a UU if you can’t tolerate big questions or critically examine what it is that you believe and why.

You can’t be a UU if you fundamentally believe there is only one path or one spiritual truth out there to make meaning of life and to understand it. If you cling to just one set of beliefs, dogmas, or creeds and shut out the possibilities and offerings of other traditions that are different from your own, you’re not a Unitarian Universalist.

As wide as our welcoming embrace is, there are some things that are non-negotiable for us as a people. Those non-negotiables are the inherent worth and dignity of each person, no matter who they are; the rigor of critical thinking about ourselves and our beliefs; and the bounty of the world’s traditions that each hold a piece of the cosmic puzzle about how we might understand these wild, wondrous lives of ours.

No, you can’t be a Unitarian Universalist and believe anything you want. You can believe in a lot of things… But there are some fundamental things that bring us and bind us together as a tradition and faith.