An Introduction to Our
Unitarian Universalist Beliefs and Sources


Unitarian Universalist congregations together affirm and promote seven Principles. We also share a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from many sources.

Our First Principle:

The Inherit Worth and Dignity of Every Person

                                       Reflection on the First Principle

"Reverence and respect for human nature is at the core of Unitarian Universalist (UU) faith. We believe that all the dimensions of our being carry the potential to do good. We celebrate the gifts of being human: our intelligence and capacity for observation and reason, our senses and ability to appreciate beauty, our creativity, our feelings and emotions. We cherish our bodies as well as our souls. We can use our gifts to offer love, to work for justice, to heal injury, to create pleasure for ourselves and others.

“'Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy,’ the great twentieth-century Rabbi Abraham Heschel wrote. Unitarian Universalists affirm the inherent worth and dignity of each person as a given of faith—an unshakeable conviction calling us to self-respect and respect for others.”

       —Rev. Dr. Rebecca Ann Parker, minister, theologian, and author. This reflection is one of many in The             Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide, available from the UUA Bookstore.