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Recent Stories

A religion for hard times
Faith is what’s left when you stop responding to radical uncertainty with panic and denial.
By Doug Muder 3.30.09

Our inner ape
How deeply rooted is our Unitarian Universalist belief in peace and justice for all?
By Anthony David 3.9.09

Natural faith
How Darwinian evolution has transformed liberal religion.
By William R. Murry 2.12.09

Be a dignitarian
We can overcome rankism and build a world that honors the dignity of every person.
By Robert W. Fuller and Pamela A. Gerloff 1.26.09

That elusive more
What do Unitarian Universalists need to go deeper?
By Doug Muder 1.12.09

Reason for alarm
Books about reason in religion, environmentalism, and U.S. culture.
By Edd Doerr 1.5.09

Women crafting a better world
Transforming lives through global social entrepreneurship.
By Christine Nielsen 12.1.08

Dinner dilemmas
Ethical issues at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
By John Gibb Millspaugh 11.17.08

Adlai Stevenson, the original egghead
The last Unitarian nominated for president of the United States.
By Kimberly French 11.3.08

The Tyger and the Lamb
Faith in authority divides the self and endangers the world. But faith in each other, a covenantal faith, can bring personal and global peace.
By Dennis McCarty 10.6.08

Assembly of a lesser god
Belief and worship are powerful tools for organizing thought and behavior. If others get control of those tools, they can make us dance like puppets. But if we’re careful, we can learn to pull our own strings.
By Doug Muder 9.22.08

Can spirituality help at work?
Spirituality is packaged as if it's a pep pill for overworked managers.
By Stephanie Anagnoson 9.1.08

A bench by the road
The author of 'Beloved' wrote her novel because there was 'no suitable memorial' to slaves.
By Toni Morrison 8.11.08

Though Jesus did not rise from the dead
Jesus died and decomposed, and yet he was right: Nothing is utterly lost.
By Andrew James Brown 8.4.08

Early Christians emphasized paradise, not crucifixion
How we can reclaim a theology of earthly paradise.
By Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker 7.14.08

Transcendentalism divided
Some Transcendentalists emphasized self-reliance, but others stressed social reform.
By Jeff Wilson 6.23.08

Three in a thousand identify as Unitarians
A new survey estimates that 0.3 percent of American adults identify as Unitarians.
By Richard Higgins 6.2.08

Our congregationalist heritage
Unitarian Universalists have held fast to one aspect of their Puritan roots: congregational polity.
By Alice Blair Wesley 5.12.08

The fellowship movement
A look back at the lay-led congregations that transformed Unitarianism.
By Holley Ulbrich 4.21.08

Why I'm sticking with classics
My reasons for reading Hawthorne, Melville, and Dante are hardly noble.
By W. Frederick Wooden 4.7.08

Unfinished with Christianity
Most Unitarian Universalists live in tension with Christianity. I wish we talked about this more.
By Doug Muder 3.24.08

Adapting to children's needs for 200 years
How Unitarian and Universalist religious education evolved over two centuries.
By Kimberly French 3.10.08

Prophetic nonviolence
Toward a Unitarian Universalist theology of war and peace.
By Paul Rasor 2.4.08

Is your congregation talking about peacemaking?
UUA seeks congregational input on peacemaking resolution by March 1.
By Christopher L. Walton 2.4.08

The War on Drugs' war on families
A documentary film shows the tragic consequences of mandatory minimum sentences.
By Melissa Mummert 1.28.08

Forgotten story of America's whites-only towns
James Loewen documents the rise of 'sundown towns' and their enduring legacy.
By Dan Carter 1.21.08

What is sacred?
The relationship of all living things.
By Patrick O'Neill 12.17.07

Mike Gravel's Unitarian Universalism
Democratic presidential candidate identifies as a Unitarian Universalist.
By Doug Muder 12.10.07

What is evil?
A view of human nature grounded in human possibility rather than pathology.
By Patrick O'Neill 11.26.07

America's original battle over church and state
Competing visions of divine order and sacred liberty.
By Forrest Church 11.5.07

Quillen Shinn, Universalist circuit rider
Our Universalist forebears ranged far and wide.
By Kimberly French 10.15.07

Pete Stark's untroubled humanism
A Unitarian Congressman can't fathom why his nontheism is causing such a fuss.
By Doug Muder 10.8.07

Liberal theology, vibrant but hidden
Unitarian Universalism was liberal theology's first home, but we have neglected it lately.
By Christopher L. Walton 9.24.07

Liberal religion and the working class
Unitarian Universalism has a class problem.
By Doug Muder 9.3.07

Independent magazines take a hit
New postal rules treat small periodicals unfairly.
By Christopher L. Walton 9.3.07

Jesus for UU children
New book offers a Unitarian Universalist view.
By Christopher L. Walton 8.27.07

Drops of water turn a mill
Does the Internet Age augur a revival of liberal religion?
By Doug Muder 8.13.07

Louisa May Alcott's Unitarian legacy
Did 'Little Women' plant the seeds of my own Unitarian Universalism?
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 8.6.07

Love the contradictions
The world needs people who can love it in its contradiction and complexity.
By Robert Hardies 7.23.07

Stem cell research offers hope
But politics is interfering with medical research.
By Molly DeHaas Walsh 7.16.07

Thirty years of feminist transformation
The 1977 Women and Religion resolution transformed the Unitarian Universalist Association.
By Kimberly French 6.25.07

Does humanism need to be new?
A Harvard conference offers a ‘new humanism,’ but how does it differ from the old?
By Doug Muder 6.4.07

America's first cemetery, Unitarian-style
Boston's 175-year-old Mount Auburn Cemetery reflects Unitarian views of death.
By Kimberly French 5.28.07

What is Unitarian Universalist Buddhism?
The history of UU engagement with Buddhism and its growing significance.
By James Ishmael Ford 5.21.07

Did James Luther Adams really predict 'Christian fascists'?
Chris Hedges invokes UU theologian James Luther Adams in his new book, 'American Fascists,' but gets Adams only half-right.
By George Kimmich Beach 4.30.07

What membership means
Our covenant is open to all who will enter it with us.
By Alice Blair Wesley 4.16.07

Our interdependent weather forecast
Weather is the great equalizer, reminding us that we share one world.
By Laura Lee 3.19.07

Eating ethically
Can you clean your plate with a clean conscience?
By Amy Hassinger 3.5.07

A theology of gratitude
Gratitude should be the center of Unitarian Universalist theology.
By Galen Guengerich 2.12.07

The emerging religious humanism
What is humanistic religious naturalism?
By William R. Murry 1.22.07

Golden age of Unitarian growth
One person inspired eight new churches in a dozen years.
By Warren R. Ross 1.8.07

What demythologizers tell their children
Stories are for everyone.
By Susan M. Smith 12.18.06

Straight to Jesus
Inside the Evangelical gay-conversion movement.
By Doug Muder 12.11.06

Pilgrims' 400-year legacy
Unitarian Universalists celebrate the Pilgrims' historic covenant.
By Kimberly French 11.20.06

What torture has taught me
My twelve years at the helm of Amnesty International.
By William F. Schulz 11.6.06

Lewis Latimer, African American inventor and Unitarian
Son of slaves invented key elements of lightbulb.
By Kimberly French 10.30.06

Hungry for democracy
A new vision of democracy is emerging.
By Frances Moore Lappe 10.9.06

American myths reconsidered
Five years after 9/11.
By W. Frederick Wooden 9.11.06

Five years of 9-11 articles
Selections from UU World's archives, 2001-2006.
By Christopher L. Walton 9.11.06

Secularism and tolerance after 9-11
Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Reza Aslan.
By Doug Muder 9.4.06

Sam Harris challenges liberal religious tolerance
Sam Harris has good news and bad news for Unitarian Universalists.
By Warren R. Ross 9.4.06

Why Unitarian Universalists need a language of reverence
The language of reverence is the language of humanity.
By Kendyl Gibbons 7.31.06

Love as a way of life
Love your neighbor, even before disaster strikes.
By Rebecca Ann Parker 7.10.06

What would Jefferson and Adams do?
What two Unitarian U.S. presidents would think of contemporary religious politics.
By Forrest Church 7.3.06

St. Louis, first Unitarian outpost in the West
First Unitarian church west of the Mississippi River formed in 1835.
By Suzanne Meyer 6.19.06

Heroes' dilemma: How much would you sacrifice?
The complex moral legacy of Martha and Waitstill Sharp.
By Michelle Bates Deakin 6.5.06

Newbery winner reflects author's liberal faith
Thoughtful teen novel weaves in themes from various world religions.
By Keith Kron 6.5.06

The quest for the historical Mary Magdalene
The church fathers and 'The Da Vinci Code' both get Mary Magdalene wrong.
By Elizabeth A. Lerner 5.15.06

Marriage in the nineteenth century
The complexities of women's lives in Unitarian Boston.
By John Buehrens 5.8.06

How the UU Principles and Purposes were adopted
A history of Unitarian Universalism's Principles.
By Warren R. Ross 5.1.06

Unlikely partners saved a threatened species
Landowners, environmentalists, and policymakers worked together.
By Brent Haglund 4.17.06

Counterculture and liberal religion
20th-century transformations of liberal religion.
By Christopher L. Walton 4.3.06

UU Service Committee led on Central American human rights
Fifteen years of advocacy in El Salvador.
By Richard Scobie 3.20.06

The wonder of evolution
Science and religion stand together.
By Amy Hassinger 2.20.06

Ebenezer Scrooge's conversion
Charles Dickens's Unitarian 'Christmas Carol.'
By Michael Timko 12.19.05

Do UUs have theological common ground?
Two books look for liberal religion's theological foundations.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 11.14.05

Two books see fascism in America
Davidson Loehr and Charles Derber see fascism in contemporary American politics.
By Tom Stites 11.1.05

Why liberal religion offers a better way
Liberal religious people need to reclaim the moral agenda.
By Krista Taves 10.10.05

Competing worldviews of fundamentalists and religious liberals
Why fundamentalists fear liberal family values.
By Doug Muder 9.12.05

Two new books about the urge to mend
What can we do to help?
By Victoria Safford 9.6.05

New songbook explores new music styles
A review of Singing the Journey.
By W. Frederick Wooden 8.22.05

The spiritual in science fiction
A Unitarian Universalist take on science fiction and fantasy.
By Will Shetterly 7.25.05

The microcredit revolution
How small loans to people in poverty are empowering women and transforming local economies around the world.
By Dorothy May Emerson 3.1.05

James Luther Adams's examined faith
Faith is not fundamentally about one's beliefs but about one's commitments.
By Christopher L. Walton 1.1.05

Preventing nuclear terrorism
The urgent need to secure weapons-grade nuclear material.
By Guy Quinlan 1.1.05

The ceremony of innocence
A ceremony of innocence is a statement of faith and an act of hope.
By Galen Guengerich 1.1.05

Was Thomas Jefferson really a Unitarian?
What makes someone 'one of us'?
By Peg Duthie 11.1.04

Modern slavery's bitter harvest
Slavery isn't history—and we're reaping its fruit.
By Kimberly French 11.1.04

What you and your congregation can do about slavery
Steps you can take to end modern slavery.
By Kimberly French 11.1.04

Boycotts don't always help, but you can
How to harness consumer power against modern slavery.
By Kimberly French 11.1.04

The pages of sin
Greed, envy, gluttony, and lust reconsidered.
By Dan Cryer 9.1.04

The fear patrol
Unitarian Universalists offer insights into the cultural and personal sources of fear
By Neil Shister 9.1.04

Orthodox Jewish wisdom for religious liberals
Engaging my ancestral Judaism enriches my Unitarian Universalism.
By Elizabeth A. Lerner 5.1.04

Gay rights timeline
Major social, political, and religious milestones on the road to equality.
By Christopher L. Walton 5.1.04

Human origins and human futures
Looking back at Darwin and ahead at genetic engineering.
By Dan Cryer 3.1.04

The fundamentalist agenda
Fundamentalism may be absolutely natural, ancient, and powerful—but the liberal impulse makes us humane.
By Davidson Loehr 1.1.04

Human rights and the evil of terrorism
Terrorists commit vicious human rights crimes. But they also thrive on the crimes of others.
By William F. Schulz 1.1.04

Jesus and the modern seeker
It may take an act of great will to see past the relics of tradition to something new.
By Erik Walker Wikstrom 1.1.04

Science and its metaphors
How far does the authority of science go?
By Christopher L. Walton 11.1.03

Unitarian Universalism's humanist legacy
Seventy years of religious humanism.
By William F. Schulz 11.1.03

The reclamation of liberalism
Comparing Fareed Zakaria and James Luther Adams.
By John Weston 9.1.03

Adin Ballou's influential utopianism
The Universalist-Unitarian who influenced Tolstoy, Gandhi, and King.
By Christopher L. Walton 7.1.03

Unitarian Universalist questions about war
How do you "support the troops" when you oppose the war?
By Neil Shister 7.1.03

Ralph Waldo Emerson's Unitarian legacy
What do we see in Ralph Waldo Emerson on his 200th birthday?
By Richard Higgins 5.1.03

Emerson's shadow
The shadow side to Emerson's influence.
By Forrest Church 5.1.03

Power, religious faith, and social change
The challenge of citizen participation and the democratic process.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 3.1.03

Are Americans afraid of freedom?
Many Americans see liberty as terrorism's accomplice.
By Wendy Kaminer 1.1.03

We need more patriots
Nationalism threatens the true meaning of American patriotism.
By Forrest Church 1.1.03

Religious dialogue in a divided world
The urgent need for Muslim dialogue and a Jew's quest to pray with Christians and Muslims.
By Christopher L. Walton 1.1.03

Ellery Schempp stood up for religious minorities
Ellery Schempp's 1958 lawsuit ended mandatory Bible readings in school.
By Kimberly French 1.1.03

It came upon a Unitarian midnight clear
Edmund Hamilton Sears's beloved carol longs for peace.
By Ken Sawyer 12.23.02

Why Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't a UU
A reflection on race and theology.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 11.1.02

Against vengeance
Witness for the things that make for peace.
By Rebecca Ann Parker 9.1.02

How to be a cultural broker
Things you can to help refugees in your town.
By Mary Pipher 7.1.02

The middle of everywhere
How Lincoln, Nebraska, came to be the picture of America's multicultural future.
By Mary Pipher 7.1.02

Interview with Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Parker
What to do when experience challenges tradition.
By Christopher L. Walton and Jane Greer 3.3.02

Can violence save?
Challenging the theology of redemptive suffering.
By Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker 3.1.02

Breaking the cycle of violence
Responding to terrorism without promoting more violence.
By John Paul Lederach 1.1.02

Unitarian and Universalist roots of the American Red Cross
Two volunteer organizations led by Unitarians and Universalists set a foundation for the American Red Cross.
By Christopher L. Walton 1.1.02

Special issue: Life with terrorism
A guide to stories from UU World's special issue responding to the attacks of 9/11.
By Christopher L. Walton 1.1.02

Has terrorism shaken our religious principles?
9/11 challenges Unitarian Universalists to think about evil.
By Warren R. Ross 1.1.02

Pacifists and pragmatists
We are not a peace church. We are not a war church.
By John Buehrens 1.1.02

Unshakable foundations
What endures in a time of terror: A sermon from the week of 9/11.
By Galen Guengerich 1.1.02

An urgent encounter with Islam
A reading list in the aftermath of 9/11.
By Rosemary Bray McNatt 1.1.02

Universalism: A theology for the 21st century
To the Universalist, truth in religion is like truth in poetry.
By Forrest Church 11.5.01

UUA supported publication of Pentagon Papers
Beacon Press and the Pentagon Papers.
By Warren R. Ross 9.3.01

Timeline of the Selma civil rights campaign
From Selma to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
By Christopher L. Walton 5.1.01

Wartime origins of the flaming chalice
The flaming chalice was first used by the Unitarian Service Committee.
By Dan Hotchkiss 5.1.01

Stories from Universalist history
Stories of Universalists.
By David Reich 7.1.93

Claiming and reclaiming Universalism
Reflecting on the Unitarian and Universalist merger.
By Helene Knox 7.1.93