Unitarians find our bond of unity in shared values, such as:

• the nurture of life’s spiritual dimension
• the use of reason and honest doubt in the search for truth
• mutual respect and goodwill in personal relations
• constructive tolerance and openness towards the sincerely-held beliefs of others
• peace, compassion, justice and democracy in human affairs
• reverence for the earth and the whole natural system of which we are part.

At the heart of Unitarianism is worship, which usually takes place Sunday by Sunday. Unitarian worship reflects what a particular community regards as being of supreme worth. A Unitarian service may comprise:

• worship of the divine
• celebration of life
• affirmation of shared values
• recognition of our failings
• commitment to the meeting of human need
• encouragement of human potential.

The Unitarian worship-cycle usually marks:

• the feasts and fasts of the Christian year
• the changing seasons and cycles of the earth
• occasions and festivals from the wider human heritage, both religious and secular – such as Human Rights Day and World AIDS Day
• lives and events which have a special place in human history and spiritual development.

Unitarians offer special services to celebrate birth and naming, marriage or partnership, or a life that has ended. These are arranged, as far as possible, to express the beliefs and to meet the needs of those most closely involved.

Unitarians and Christianity

The Unitarian movement arose and evolved in the Christian tradition. Today, most Unitarians are happy to acknowledge this living relationship in some way. Many are glad to call themselves Free or liberal Christians.

Unitarians recognize that the word ‘God’ has no single definition and do not claim the right to define God for others. These are some of the ways in which they describe and experience God:

• as a universal father or mother
• as a unifying and life-giving spirit – reflective of both masculine and feminine
• as the source of all being, within which the creative process is unfolding
• as a primarily inward reality – the ‘still, small voice’
• as a ‘great mystery’ about which little can be said

Unitarians hold Jesus in high regard. Generally speaking, they think of him as a teacher in the rabbinic and prophetic tradition of Judaism, whose central message was the call to love:

• as a powerful example of integrity, courage and compassionate living
• as fully and unequivocally human
• as divine only in the sense that his life and work revealed – or came to symbolize
• the divinity and high potential inherent in everyone.

The roots of the Unitarian movement lie principally in the Reformation of the 16th century. At that time, people in many countries across Europe began to claim:

• the right to read and interpret the Bible for themselves
• the right to have a direct relationship with God, without the mediation of priest or church
• the right to set their own conscience against the claims of religious institutions
  

As Unitarian beliefs developed, they came to include:

• the unity of God hence the name ‘Unitarian’
• the humanity of Christ
• the worth of human beings
• the universal salvation of all souls

An organized Unitarian movement emerged in the late 18th century. The first avowedly Unitarian church in Britain was opened in Essex Street, London, 1774.