Unitarian Universalism 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.
Our positive faith of affirmation in humanity and confidence in the universe
has grown out of a long history, going back to such thinkers as Origen (AD
185-251) and Arius (AD 256-366).
In Canada and the United States, Unitarianism and Universalism arose out of
an eighteenth-century protest against Calvinism and state churches. These two
movements sought to affirm the natural, rational human personality and to
understand deity in terms of the unipersonality (i.e. Unity) of God as
contrasted with the doctrine of the Trinity, and the normal humanity of
Jesus as contrasted with the eternal deity of Christ. At that time, they
insisted on the eventual salvation of all humankind, and thus increased the
sense of the personal worth of each person.
Unitarianism in Canada finds its roots in the Non-subscribing Presbyterians.
The first Unitarian church in Canada was founded in Montreal in 1842. Our
fellowship in Nanaimo was started in 1959.
Today's Unitarian Universalist congregations insist that each person is
responsible for determining what one must believe and how one must respond to
those beliefs. We stress the use of reason in defining truth, tolerance of
widely different formulations of belief, and the use of democratic process in
decision making. All honest seekers of truth and meaning are welcome in our
religious community.
