The debate over the revision of Article II of the Unitarian Church

News article by Kathryn Post | Religion News Service

Unitarian Universalists’ dogma-free approach to spirituality isn’t the only thing that sets them apart from other American denominations. As the denomination meets online this week for its 2024 General Assembly, the most pressing item on the agenda isn’t the ordination of women or LGBTQ+ inclusion, but whether to adopt a revised version of the denomination’s Covenant Clause, also known as Article II.

To an outsider, the differences between the current Article II, which contains a list of seven principles, and the proposed version may seem subtle: Both celebrate values ​​such as justice, interdependence, pluralism, and the inherent dignity of the human person. But for Unitarian Universalists, the changes in emphasis, framing, and wording are weighty and sometimes tricky.

Unitarianism, known for its rejection of doctrines and spiritual litmus tests, was formed in 1961 through the merger of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association. Article II must be revised at least every 15 years according to the bylaws and was last updated in 1987. However, many Unitarian-Universalists still cling strongly to the current version, which is engraved on church walls and hymnals of the denomination’s roughly 1,000 congregations.

“What excites me is that tens of thousands of Unitarian Universalists are devoting four years of time to expressing the values ​​of this faith,” the Rev. Sofía Betancourt, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, told Religion News Service about the process of revising Article II. “We see ourselves as a living tradition in the church tradition, and to have our congregations represented by their leaders and members expressing what is most important to us is really, really impressive to me.”

The Article II Commission of Inquiry met for the first time in 2020 before embarking on the years-long process of developing its proposal. Over 10,000 UUs responded to the group’s surveys, and more than 4,000 participated in the commission’s 45 feedback sessions. These efforts resulted in a revision proposal that replaces the principles with a list of interconnected values ​​(justice, interdependence, equality, transformation, pluralism, generosity) with love at its core. Each value has a corresponding compact that sets out how those values ​​should be lived.

“The update puts the pact more clearly at the center of UU life,” Paula Cole Jones, who served on the Article II Investigation Committee, told RNS by email. “Our previous principles were wonderful statements and there were no verbs. The new statement includes verbs that express how we actively support our values.”

Jones and other organizers have long advocated for UU congregations to adopt the 8^th Principle, a pact to “responsibly dismantle racism and other forms of oppression in ourselves and our institutions.” This commitment, adopted individually by over 280 UU congregations, is also reflected in the new revisions.

In 2023, more than 86% of delegates voted to move forward with the proposed changes to Article II. This year, once additional changes are voted on, the final Article II proposal must be approved by two-thirds of the General Assembly to be adopted. The final vote will be announced on Sunday (June 23), and if the new version is adopted, it will immediately become part of the UUA’s bylaws.

Despite broad support for the proposal at last year’s General Assembly, some UUs have vocally opposed the changes, forming grassroots groups such as the Fifth Principle Project and Save the 7 Principles. These groups see the changes as evidence of a broader shift toward a more restrictive, activist faith that de-emphasizes logic and reason.

Although the Unitarian Universalists are predominantly white—NPR reported in 2017 that over 80% of UUs are white—they have always been committed to fighting racism. The UUs are known for their active involvement in the civil rights movement, and in 1997 their general assembly passed a business resolution explicitly prioritizing the fight against racism. Nevertheless, the group’s anti-racist commitment has increased in recent years, partly in response to a 2017 controversy that led then-Unitarian Universalist Association president Peter Morales to resign over racial disparities in the Unitarian Universalist Association’s hiring practices. In 2020, a commission released a report titled “Widening the Circle of Concern,” declaring the fight against racism to be core to the UU’s faith tradition.

Some believe that this emphasis has come at the expense of historic UU values ​​such as individualism, personal liberty and free speech.

“The bigger picture is that the entire legacy that the Unitarian Church is based on is historically seen as white supremacy. All of our liberal principles, all of our sources are now white supremacy, and that’s the main reason they’re trying to eliminate it,” said Frank Casper, co-founder of Fifth Principle. “I keep asking the question: Have you told people who have been practicing UUism for 50 years that what they’re doing is white supremacy?”

Susan McWethy, a UU who helped build the Seven Principles Project, also raised concerns about the process for considering changes to Article II: She pointed out that the Unitarian Universalist Association is using a technique called the “Progressive Stack” at this year’s General Assembly, which ensures that people with marginalized identities (including delegates who are people of color, Indigenous, disabled, fat, transgender, or nonbinary) are the first to contribute during discussions.

Betancourt told RNS she sees the Article II debates mostly as a response to change. But just because the principles and purposes are updated doesn’t mean they’re going away. “Do we trust that words that have been really powerful and meaningful to us can continue? Our history shows us that they can,” Betancourt said, noting that some historic affirmations, while not in official charters, are still valued by many congregations.

Carey McDonald, executive vice president of the UUA, noted that the proposals are based on feedback from UUs themselves. “They reflect the broad and consistently affirmed direction of Unitarian Universalism toward greater equality, justice, anti-oppression, and liberation,” McDonald said of the proposal. “That is absolutely reflected in this draft.”

The General Assembly will also vote on a new business proposal that states that acceptance of transgender, nonbinary, intersex and gender diverse people is a fundamental expression of the UU’s religious values ​​and commits to condemning anti-transgender legislation. If passed, the resolution would reaffirm the work UUs have already done in this area and hold UUA national staff and board accountable to these commitments, according to Betancourt.

Delegates also voted on Thursday on whether to put a proposal on the agenda calling on the UUs to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to apartheid in Palestine. The result of Thursday’s vote will be announced later on Friday. If the proposal is put on the agenda, it will be discussed on Saturday and votes will be announced on Sunday.

As the process for proposing changes to Article II comes to a close, the UUA is turning its attention to other initiatives, including UU the Vote 2024, the group’s nonpartisan civic engagement, and a climate justice revival in September that will combine worship and activism in UU congregations. Still, UUA leaders hope delegates and UUs across the denomination will pause to recognize their efforts over the past four years.

“Having a faith community that is rooted in a historical tradition but is open to what you bring to the table is really powerful and necessary in today’s world,” McDonald said.