What is Unity?

Unity is a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus and the power of prayer. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual's right to choose a spiritual path.
Follow the links below for statements about the Unity movement.   
Joint Statement for Peace          
Honoring Diversity Within the Unity Movement
   
Unity Association of Unity Churches, International Unity Village
What We Believe

God
 
God is Spirit, the loving source of all that is. God is the one power, all good, everywhere present, all wisdom. God is divine energy, continually creating, expressing and sustaining all creation. In God, we live and move and have our being. In Unity, some other ways we speak of God are Life, Light, Love, Substance, Principle, Law and Universal Mind.
 
Jesus
 
We believe that Jesus expressed his divine potential and sought to show humankind how to express ours as well. We see Jesus as a master teacher of universal truths and as our Way Shower. In Unity, we use the term Christ to mean the divinity in humankind. Jesus is the great example of the Christ in expression.
 
The Nature of Humankind
 
We are each individual, eternal expressions of God. Our essential nature is divine and therefore inherently good. Our purpose is to express our divine potential as realized and demonstrated by Jesus and other master teachers. The more we awaken to our divine nature, the more fully God expresses in and through our lives.
 
The Bible
 
Unity founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore studied the Bible as history and allegory and interpreted it as a metaphysical representation of humankind's evolutionary journey toward spiritual awakening. In addition, Unity recognizes that the Bible is a complex collection of writings compiled over many centuries. We honor the writings as reflecting the understanding and inspiration of the writers at the time they were written. The Bible continues to be a valuable spiritual resource for us.
 
Our Teachings
 
Unity teaches that each person is a unique expression of God created with sacred worth. Living from that awareness transforms our lives and the world. Unity emphasizes the creative power of thought in our life experience. We refer to this as the Law of Mind Action. When we take personal responsibility to choose life-affirming thoughts, words and actions, we experience a more fulfilling and abundant life.
 
Unity emphasizes the importance of applying spiritual principles in our daily lives.
 
Unity teachings continue to evolve as we identify, embrace and apply spiritual insights and the spiritual implications of new discoveries.
 
Prayer and Meditation
 
Affirmative prayer is the highest form of creative thought. It includes the release of counterproductive, negative thoughts, as well as holding in mind statements of spiritual truth. Through meditation, we experience the presence of God. Prayer and meditation heighten our awareness and thereby transform our lives.
 
Youth and Family Ministry
 
Unity recognizes that there are many expressions of family life. All are welcome. Unity creates an affirming environment that fosters positive self-image, personal responsibility and unconditional love and acceptance.
 
Unity:
  • Beholds all children as whole and perfect expressions of God.
  • Empowers children to fulfill their divine potential.
  • Teaches children to meditate and pray.
  • Invites children to experience a loving God.
  • Unity provides a strong spiritual foundation for children's lives.

Spiritual Action
 
In Unity, we feel a sacred responsibility, individually and collectively, to make a positive difference through personal example and active service in our churches, our communities and our world.

 

Click for more about:
 
 

 

Comments

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help for my kids
Hello, I would like to know If there is a book you can recomend to help me teach my kids Christianity this way, how to meditate and understand the power of creative thinking. thank you so much, Karla Jimenez Nicaragua
karlajimenez
1/31/2010 8:50:11 AM
INFORMATION
Response from Rev. Ed Townley:


"Dear Friend, Thanks for your question on the unity.org website concerning a specific location for 'the Christ.' I think your idea that the Christ is in every cell is much closer than any attempt to locate it in a specific place or body part.

But I think it might be more accurate to say that the Christ is every cell. The Christ is the creative energy of God that is our true identity. We are not individuals who contain a thing called the Christ. Rather, the Christ energy is who we are -- one with the Power and Presence that we call God.

Because we have forgotten our true identity, the Christ exists mostly as potential. When we 'remember' who in truth we are, we are able to express the Christ through every choice; this process is what brings the new, elevated consciousness Jesus Christ calls 'the kingdom of heaven' into expression. As Jesus taught, the kingdom is already at hand -- it is within us, it is the potential represented by the God Presence we call the Christ.

If a specific focus helps affirm the Christ Presence, I would suggest the heart -- the "upper room" within us, the higher perspective that knows our Oneness and is free of the distracting thoughts of limitation and fear we may harbor in our minds.

Blessings! Rev Ed"

Read more from Rev. Ed on his blog Interpret This.
Sally-UnityWebTeam
11/3/2009 8:28:47 AM
Re: I wish I found you much earlier
Dee Dee, I was a member of a UU Church in my previous city. I too like so much about them, but missed hearing the word God in Sunday services. UU is very spiritual, but in a more secular expression (which is fine, I was just looking for something else).
Suzanne
10/24/2009 5:38:17 PM
Reincarnation
Unity takes no position on reincarnation one way or the other, though you may find individuals there that believe in it.
Suzanne
10/24/2009 5:34:50 PM
Reincarnation
I guess we'll all find out when we pass to the other side. For an interesting explanation of death, read Deepak Chopra's "Power, Freedom and Grace" chapter 5 (and other chapters are good too - esp Chap 3). Also read "Journey of Souls" and "Destiny of Souls" by Michael Newton. Mary
$comment.memberIdName
10/13/2009 4:31:29 PM
Reincarnation
Hi. I've never attended a Unity Church before. I found one about 23 mikes from where I live and I am going to attend a service there. I've been reading a lot of what Unity believes and wonder what their position on reincarnation is? I accept it as a possibility. I've been a Deist for a few years now and am now a Christian Deist. It will be interesting to see how my beliefs blend in with Unity.
driver
10/10/2009 6:46:13 PM
INFORMATION
Precisely, if possible; where is the CHRIST located in the body; I have heard: back of the neck; top of the head, heart. Thanks. Muriel p.s. I believe that the Christ is in every cell of our body.
murielthompson1st
9/8/2009 3:28:16 PM
Coming Home
I attended Unity for many years before i became a member. I studies to become a chaplin. Then i invited toxic substances into my daily exsistance. I've lived in this darkness now for over 3years. Tonite, I held the bible to my lips and asked for a way/path out of this. The answer: teach spiritual truths. I've always know this to be a calling, but have forgotten. Ordered daily word, signed up for Day of Prayer, and located a unity church in the city where I now reside. Ask and You Shall Receive....always holds true.
milagro
9/5/2009 12:04:26 AM
I wish I'd found you so much earlier
I am now a member of a Unitarian Universalist Church where my husband is the music minister. I am happy there in many ways and so much freer than in the conservative churches I grew up in. But it hasn't been quite enough. I have longed for more "church" with "God" but God as I understood God. Wise One. All Loving. Not the God I was taught growing up and I didn't really think people saw God as I did. I see here I was wrong. I won't be leaving the Unitarians, they have provided me with a great space to heal and my family is very happy there, but I suspect I'll visit your churches and read your materials and know that there is a place where people understand God as I think God would like to be understood.
DeeDeeByTheBay
8/10/2009 11:19:21 PM
response to Linda
Hi Linda. I wanted to respond to Unity's concept of "sin" as I understand it. I am absolutely convinced that everything that I do comes back to me. Eastern religions called it "karma"; the Bible "you reap what you sow"; and in Unity thought we would refer to it as a "law". So this means I want to treat people with respect and consideration because that is what I want to experience myself! I also truly believe that we are born with morality within us; a conscience and that following our conscience prayerfully will lead to more "right-living" than a set of external rules would. I also am in an interfaith marriage! To me, marriage and parenting are the ultimate ways to practice our spirituality; love, humility, dissolving the ego, patience, and faith. And many very otherwise "spiritual" people fail to recognize the profound mirrors that a spouse or a child hold up. And yes, I certainly feel sad when I realize that some behavior of mine does not meet the needs of my spouse because I so love to see him happy. Similarly, I don't hold myself responsible for his happiness. I work to release any and all resentments I may feel toward him, to communicate as honestly as my awareness will allow, to love, appreciate, and understand him, to take in his feedback and allow it to affect me, and not to make him into my Higher Power. Thanks, Erin
Rina
8/1/2009 2:40:05 AM

Twelve Spiritual Tools
for Abundant Living:
A Journey for 2010

Are you wanting to feel more fulfilled, centered and in charge of your life? Did you know that you already possess 12 spiritual gifts that can help you live the life of your dreams?

Beginning in January, a variety of free resources will be posted each month to help you discover and utilize these 12 spiritual gifts. Join us on the journey at www.unity.org/12Powers.

 



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