Background:

Unitarian Universalist (UU) values and traditions can be traced back for centuries, and have always centered around love, with the belief in the universal, inherent worth and dignity of every person. Recognizing that they practiced very similar beliefs, including the principles of a free faith, two historical liberal Christian denominations with long histories of social justice action merged in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.

 

Instead of a creed, the UUA created a statement of corporate purposes and shared aspirations that included six core principles. It only used male terms, although women were also members of UU congregations and fellowships, and it emphasized Judeo-Christian tradition as one of the core principles, even though it had a strict "Freedom of Belief" clause and included members from varied religions and humanist traditions, as well.

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In 1985, those principles were finally updated, in the form of a covenant, to include more gender neutral and inclusive language, remove reference to any specific creed, and add a seventh principle to honor the earth and our place in it. Additionally, the covenant included a list of five sources of spiritual wisdom that inform our faith and understanding, expressing gratitude for our religious pluralism that enriches and enobles our faith expands our vision. In 1995, the UUA added one more source of wisdom, the earth-centered traditions. By 1997 momentum, was building to once again address racial justice work as UUs. That year a Business Resolution was passed titled: Toward an Anti-Racist Unitarian Universalist Association. ​

The 2021 Statement of Conscience was passed by a 90% ‘yes’ vote of congregational delegates at the 2021 General Assembly:  Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action.

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Grassroots Origins: Drafted in 2013 by Paula Cole Jones and Bruce Pollack-Johnson, it was designed as an explicit anti-racism principle.

Congregational Adoption: Instead of waiting for a national overhaul, congregations voted one by one to adopt it locally starting around 2017.

The Article II Study Commission: When the UUA began its mandated 15-year review of Article II in 2020, rather than just adding an 8th bullet point to the 1985 list, the study commission integrated the core intent and language of the 8th Principle—specifically building a multicultural Beloved Community and accountably dismantling racism—directly into the newly passed 2024 Shared Values framework.​​​​​​​

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it is only just recently that we have taken a conscious, responsible, restorative look at how our our words and practices align with our values in the 21st century to ​​reform our commitments, or covenants to deliberately include people from groups that have been historically excluded from equitable access to our faith and society in general.​

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​Love is at the center, holding and driving the other 6 values: Interdependence, Equity, Justice, Transformation, Pluralism, and Generosity.

 

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Fullerton continues to affirm and promote the 8 principles: 1. The worth and dignity of every person; 2. Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; 3. Acceptance and spiritual growth; 4. Free and responsible search for truth; 5. Democratic processes and conscience; 6. Peace, liberty, and justice for all, 7. Respect for the interdependent web of existence; and 8. Dismantling racism and oppression to build a diverse, multicultural Beloved Community.