Difference between Christian Universalism and Unitarian Universalism (ritual, salvation, beliefs)

[Carl Unger]

Hello all,
I am a Christian Universalist but have never heard much about Unitarian Universalists.
What all I know is that Unitarian Universalists believe that the trinity doesn't exist. rather the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit are seperate.

Now I was just wondering if there are any other differences between Unitarian Universalism and Christian Universalism then that.

Thanks for reading

[Green Gaia]

Hi I'm so glad you asked! I'm going to direct you towards a couple other threads on UU history and FAQ on UUism.

Unitarian Universalism grew out of the Christian Unitarian and Universalist movements. While our roots are Christians, we are not considered Christian today, even by ourselves, because we embrace all religions and wisdome teachings, not just Christian ones. There are still Christian Unitarians around though, especially in Europe and there are Christians who hold Universalist beliefs either through their church's teachings or through their own spiritual exploration.

I hope that helps. I'll be glad to try to answer any other questions you have as well.

[Davidium]

Hello Carl,

I do have to ask one question before I can really answer that. Which school of Christian Universalism do you mean?

For example, Do you beleive in the 1700's Universalism of John Murray, who presented in the face of Calvanism a message of God's love, a love so great that he would not allow any Christian to go to hell, but still believed that Hell existed... For all the non-christians. Remember, in Calvinsim, if you were a Christian but not one of the elect, you were still going to hell.

Do you beleive in the Universalim of the 1800's of Hosea Ballou, who began to wonder if all mankind were saved in some way, and not just Christians... for God loved all of his Children, not just those who were Christian?

Or are you closer to the 1900's Universalism of the Humiliati, who began to wonder if all were saved, might there not be found God's wisdom in the religious thought of all faiths? For if God saved all, might he not have spoken to all, just in different ways, ways their cultures might have understood?

My answer to your question can be general, but I can answer it better if I have a better idea where you are on the path that Universalism has taken though the centuries. From Universal Salvation to the Universality of Faith.

I would also recommend the short book "The Larger Faith: A Short History of American Universalism" by Charles Howe.

YoUUrs in Faith,

David

[jonny]

I was actually wondering about this the other day. I was walking past a church that said Unitarian on it in Salt Lake and wasn't sure if it is the same as the Unitarian Universalism or if there are other branches of Unitarians (as there are with Christians). Do you know what most of the Unitarian churches in the United States are?

[Green Gaia]

Originally Posted by jonny

I was actually wondering about this the other day. I was walking past a church that said Unitarian on it in Salt Lake and wasn't sure if it is the same as the Unitarian Universalism or if there are other branches of Unitarians (as there are with Christians). Do you know what most of the Unitarian churches in the United States are?

Most in the US are UU, even if their name is still Unitarian, but there are still some Christian Unitarian churches. The First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City is UU. The older churches generally kept the same name even after the Unitarian and Universalist merger in 1961, they just adopted the Principles of the UUA.

American Unitarian Congregations

Unitarian Universalist Congregations

[Davidium]

There are a few churches in the US that use the title Unitarian, but are not affiliated with the UUA... but they are very rare. I think last time I checked there were three.

None of them are in Salt Lake City. There are two UUA Churches in Salt Lake City. Here is their information.
First Unitarian Church
Number of Members: 425
Meeting Address:
569 S 1300 E
Salt Lake City, UT 84102-3228 Business Fax: (801) 582-0250
Web Page: http://www.slcuu.org
E-mail: uuadmin@burgoyne.com
Business: (801) 582-8687
Church ID: 7915

South Valley UU Society
Number of Members: 180
Meeting Address:
6876 Highland Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 84121-3045 Business Fax: 801-944-9723
Web Page: http://www.svuus.org
E-mail: svuus@xmission.com
Business: (801) 944-9723
Church ID: 7916

I hope that answers your question.... and now, Back to Universalism!

I keep hoping to find a "Divine Light Universalist Church" or something like that....

David

[Carl Unger]

I do have to ask one question before I can really answer that. Which school of Christian Universalism do you mean?

I am closer to the 1900's type of Universalism which you just described.
I don't know much history about the Universalist church.
My general beliefs are that All people will be reconciled into Christ eventually.
I do have scriptual proof if you want it but at the moment I want to stay on the topic of Unitarian Universalism.

[Green Gaia]

What is it specifically you want to know about Unitarian Universalism, Carl? If it is a history of the Universalist movements side, David would be better to answer you. However, I can give you a few thoughts on my understanding and definition of what Universalist means to a UU.

In Christianity, Universalism is the doctrine that all people will eventually be saved and go to heaven at some point after they are dead. This is based on the belief that a loving God would not submit any person, regardless of their sins, to everlasting torment, but would instead reform them. I suspect this is something like the belief you hold. I don't believe in a literal Hell or Heaven (at least not in the Christian sense), but I do believe all souls will go on to another plane of existence. The Christian idea of universalism is main idea when someone usually talks of universalism, but the term is multi-fold to me. For me, universalism means that all religions are equal roads to finding and understanding God. All wisdom tradition hold truths that everyone can learn and grow from. It also means to me a desire to be open and accepting of ALL people, which UUs certainly strive to do.