Universalist Unitarianism is a liberal religion born of the Jewish and Christian traditions. We keep our minds open to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places.

We believe that personal experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion. In the end religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in ourselves. We put religious insights to the test of our hearts and minds.

We uphold the free search for truth. We will not be bound by a statement of belief. We will not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed. We say ours is a non-creedal religion. Ours is a free faith.

We believe that religious wisdom is ever-changing. Human understanding of life and death, the world and its mysteries, is never final. Revelation is continuous. We celebrate unfolding truths known to teachers, prophets, and sages throughout the ages.

We affirm the worth of all women and men. We believe people should be encouraged to think for themselves. We know people differ in their opinions and lifestyles and believe these differences generally should be honored.

We seek to act as a moral force in the world, believing that ethical living is the supreme witness of religion. The here and now and the effects of our actions will have on future generations deeply concern us. We know that our relationships with one another, with other peoples, races, and nations, should be governed by justice, equity, and compassion.

Marta Flanagan graduated from Smith College and received her M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School. She has served as minister to the First Universalist Society in Salem, Massachusetts since 1987.

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We believe in the worth and dignity of each human being. All people on earth have an equal claim to life, liberty, and justice- and no idea, ideal, or philosophy is superior to a single human life.

We believe in the toleration of religious ideas. All religions, in every age and culture, possess not only an intrinsic merit, but also a potential value for those who have learned the art of listening.

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We believe in the ethical application of religion. Good works are the natural product of a good faith, the evidence of an inner grace that finds completion in social and community involvement.

We believe in the authority of reason and conscience. The ultimate arbiter on religion is not a church, or a document, or an official, but the personal choice and decision of the individual.

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We believe in the motive force of love. The governing principle in human relationships is the principle of love, which always seeks the welfare of others and never seeks to hurt or destroy.

We believe in the never-ending search for Truth. If the mind and heart are truly free and open, the revelations which appear to the human spirit are infinitely numerous, eternally fruitful, and wondrously exciting.

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We believe in the necessity of the democratic process. Records are open to scrutiny, elections are open to members, and ideas are open to criticism- so that people might govern themselves.

We believe in the unity of experience. There is no fundamental conflict between faith and knowledge, religion and the world, the sacred and the secular, since they all have their source in the same reality.

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We believe in the importance of a religious community. The validation of experience requires the confirmation of peers, who provide a critical platform along with a network of mutual support.

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