UU Humanist Association

Last summer, there was terrible violence in South Carolina. 9 individuals, 9 black Americans, were shot dead by a deranged terrorist in their church. There was outcry. Preachers and leaders promised change - or, at least, held up the communities of concern that formed out of pain.

Now, a year later, across the country there are communities of concern that have gathered in response to pain. This time, 49 individuals, LGBT Americans, many Latino, were shot dead by a deranged terrorist in an LGBT Club. 49 murdered, 53 wounded. 

Just a few days ago, here in Oakland, a young girl was shot dead after leaving a funeral. 

What do we do in response to these murders? What does our movement, religious and secular, do in response?

Some people, when pain happens, need to be alone, or with one person. 

When I heard the news, I craved community. I wanted to be around others, I wanted to see and contribute and be with other people trying to do something- even if initially it was only a witness.  Read more about Not Just Mourners »

Read more about #Humanism #OrlandoUnited #LoveIsLove »

The UU Humanist Association is proud to announce

Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd

as the recipients of our

Religious Humanists of the Year Award, 2016

Please join us

Friday, June 24, 6:00 pm

at the Columbus, OH, Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly

Hilton Columbus Downtown, Edna Boise Hopkins Room

Following the award ceremony will be their talk on Read more about Announcing Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd, Religious Humanists of the Year, 2016 »

The Unitarian Universalist Association recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) a move toward reconciliation after years of separation. This MOU was pursued at the direction of the 1999 General Assembly, which passed an Action of Immediate Witness calling upon the UUA to, as President Peter Morales writes, “seek reinstatement of the curriculum and emblem and to encourage UUs to join scouting to work for change within that organization.” The MOU also came after the BSA had taken significant steps toward inclusion of gay scouts and leaders. Read more about UU Humanists Engage UUA on New Boy Scouts Memorandum of Understanding »

We are very pleased with the interest in and engagement with the new Freethinker Friendly program. The purpose of the program is to increase the inclusiveness of UU congregations so that all theological perspectives, including non-theistic ones, are seen as valued and respected. In response to the feedback we've been getting, we've modified the first requirement about Welcome Statements somewhat and we've added two pages with more detail: Read more about Freethinker Friendly Program Updates »

The UUA presidential race is just getting underway. UU Humanists would, of course, like the next UUA president to understand and support humanism in the association, help us attract humanists to Unitarian Universalism, and to increase the influence of our progressive philosophy in the culture at large. Our friends at the Humanist Group of the Unitarian Church in Summit, NJ have suggested that we solicit questions from our members and local groups in order to “crowdsource” the task of coming up with the best questions to pose to the candidates. This would be a great topic for a humanist group meeting at your congregation or on-line if you do not have a local group.

Read more about Questions for the UUA Presidential Candidates »

The UU Humanists will be tabling at the upcoming American Humanist Association conference in Chicago, IL. We're also pleased to announce that our Unitarian Universalist Association president, Peter Morales, will be hosting a breakfast at the event on Sunday, 8am. When you register for the conference, you can select the breakfast with your registration, or use the "Already registered?" link, then the Modify button to add the event. (The breakfast will only cost you $20, with over 2/3 of the cost being covered by the UUA.) Read more about Join Us for Breakfast with Peter Morales at the AHA Conference »

Washington Ethical Society's Attendance Increases By Fifty Percent in a Year

The Washington Ethical Society’s second Sunday service, first offered last week, was a dramatic success, shown by the nearly fifty percent increase in attendance in comparison to the same Sunday a year before, Senior Leader the Rev. Amanda Poppei announced today.  “Our growth and appeal demonstrated the need for a second Sunday service, and we’re excited about that,” said Poppei; “We were thrilled to welcome about 230 people on Sunday, divided between the two services – and that was a Sunday during Spring Break for many in our community. Last year, that same Sunday had about 170 people in attendance. When we did a major building renovation nine years ago, our theme was opening our doors to the world. Well, we opened them, people came, and they weren’t disappointed!” Read more about Washington Ethical Society's Inaugural Second Service a Big Success! »

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), our leadership organization, announced last week on March 24 that it was renewing ties with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that restores the relationship after, as the related UU World article put it, "a years-long split over gay scouts and God". The split was 17 years, to be precise, and the reconcilliation was prompted by the changes in BSA policy last summer that removed the ban on gay scouts and adults. Read more about An Update on the UUA / Boy Scouts Agreement and the "God Issue" »