Unitarianism

Chalice SymbolIn the likely event that you've never heard of Unitarianism, a quick summary:

  We've been around in England since about 1680.  We came from the dissenting Christian tradition, although most Unitarians would not describe themselves as Christians these days.  Perhaps the only thing that all Unitarians would agree about is that there is no one universal truth.  Otherwise, we don't believe anything.  (Well, that's a bit misleading, we all believe something, it's just that it would be difficult to find anything that we all agree about, and speaking personally, what I believe keeps changing, so if you ask me about my beliefs on two separate occassions, I'll probably say something different each time.  I think this is a healthy way to be.)

We don't have a creed.  We welcome anyone looking to find a meaning in life.  The only requirements are an openness to have your beliefs (if you have any) challenged, and a willingness to accept that others may have a different truth; what we offer is a supportive environment in which you can explore your own personal faith / non-faith.  And change it, if it's not working for you.

We have a chapel (St. Saviourgate, in York), but it's not a church.  You won't find any religious symbols there, from any religion.  All we have is a chalice, and candle.  We have a minister, who gives addresses each Sunday, but these are not sermons, they do not aim to teach anything.  They are thoughts, musings, speculations, based on readings from just about anything with some insight to share.

Unitarianism is not a proselytising religion (actually, it's not really a religion at all), so no-one's going to visit you with explanatory pamphlets.  (We do have some explanatory pamphlets, but you have to come and ask for one.)  Most people seem to come across Unitarianism by accident.  Maybe you've stumbled across this page by accident.  You're very welcome.

Our embrace of rational thought as a route to spiritual growth is perhaps unusual, and tends to attract scientists and those with an inquiring, questioning mind.  Joseph Priestley was a prominent Unitarian, as is Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the World-Wide Web).

If you're interested to find out more, try our Home Page, or the BBC Article on Unitarianism, or please feel free to contact me: dajp1@ohm.york.ac.uk