Welcome!
This is the new online home for the UUHA: the Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association!
Our Mission
The Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association (formerly HUUmanists) is committed to Humanist principles of reason, compassion, and human fulfillment enumerated in the Humanist Manifestos and in the Values of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
We seek:
- (1) to promote a broad acceptance of Humanism in our society, particularly throughout the Unitarian Universalist Association and its congregations, and
- (2) to provide an active interface between Unitarian Universalists and the secular community.
Core Values & Aspirations
- We are Naturalists: Although we do not consider Humanism to be a “religion” within the wide-spread use of the term to denote beliefs and practices resting on some hypothetical supernatural entity, we are “religious” in that we share with most Unitarian Universalists the natural human desires for a beloved and accepting community; a purpose greater than ourselves; rituals and practices that resonate with our common humanity and shared mortality; and opportunities to work with other tough-minded, warm- hearted people to do good in the world and to help one another attain the greatest possible fulfillment in life. For these reasons most of us are members or friends of Unitarian Universalist congregations.
- Facts not Faith: We approach the natural world with profound humility and a deep sense of wonder, recognizing that the Human branch has only recently emerged on the ancient evolutionary tree. We turn to established facts, not unsubstantiated faith, in our approach to reality. We have a confirmed confidence in the collaborative methods of scientific inquiry, and in the accelerating accumulation of interconnected knowledge about our natural world and ourselves, which those methods continuously make possible. We are committed to pursuing fact-based initiatives that will help sustain the planet, our environment, and humanity itself for the greatest number of future generations.
- Free and Responsible Thought: We serve as the principal stewards of the Humanist heritage at the core of Unitarian Universalism, affirming our commitment to the values flowing from its rich history of free and responsible thought. We are “secular” in the sense of being this-worldly, acknowledging only this life in this universe. We actively foster, support, and publicize local secular and Humanist communities, and enthusiastically encourage Unitarian Universalists everywhere to support their efforts; and we promise to work with both the secular and religious communities to end discrimination against non-theists. In turn, we encourage non-theists of all stripes, within Unitarian Universalism and beyond, to “come out” regarding their non-theism. We further believe that preserving the secular character of our democracy— maintaining the wall of separation between church and state—is a moral imperative. Working closely with other secular and religious organizations, we will endeavor to mobilize the entire Unitarian Universalist community in defense of this cause.
- Changing the World for the Better: We are committed to making this life and this world better for all. As Humanists & Unitarian Universalists, our ethical commitments call us to ground values in human welfare shaped by human circumstances, interests, and concerns and extended to the global ecosystem and beyond. We do this through the work of social justice with the goal of a more equitable society for all. We are committed to treating each person as having inherent worth and dignity, and to making informed choices in a context of freedom consonant with responsibility.
- Living with Joy and Love: We espouse an “embodied” Humanism that celebrates the joy of lived experience and the importance of love in human relationships. We value experience tempered with reason, knowing that we are hard-wired for empathy and compassion. Learning to lead an ethical, Humanist life is both a moral and a biological imperative. We also know that our lived experience as humans is deeply enriched by beauty, and that encouraging, experiencing, and participating in the arts and humanities helps us all to celebrate our conviction that being alive is miracle enough.