An Introduction to Our
Unitarian Universalist Beliefs and Sources


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

Our Fourth Principle:

A Free and Responsible Search for Truth and Meaning

                              Reflection on the Fourth Principle


“As responsible religious seekers, we recognize that we are privileged to be free, to have resources to pursue life beyond mere survival, to continually search for truth and meaning, to exist beyond bonds of dogma and oppression, and to wrestle freely with truth and meaning as they evolve.

“This privilege calls us not to be isolated and self-centered, believing that our single per-spective trumps all others, but rather to be humble, to be open to the great mysteries of truth and meaning that life offers. And those mysteries may speak to us through our own intuittion and experience—but also through tradition, community, conflict, nature, and rela-tionships.

“As a faith tradition, Unitarian Universalism makes sacred the right and responsibility to engage in this free and responsible quest as an act of religious devotion. Institutionally, we have left open the questions of what truth and meaning are, acknowledging that mindful people will, in every age, discover new insights.”

                          —Rev. Paige Getty, UU Congregation of Columbia, Maryland
             (read more from Paige in The Seven Principles in Word and Worship, ed. Ellen Brandenburg)