Covenant—Part 2

A lot of faith traditions have a set of common beliefs. There are even some people who think that our current Unitarian Universalist principles are beliefs. When someone asks, “What do UUs believe?” it’s tempting to respond by quoting our principles.

But a common set of beliefs is called a creed. That’s the very definition of a creed. And Unitarian Universalism is a non-creedal faith tradition. That doesn’t mean we don’t believe anything. It means that we believe a wide spectrum of things. Each individual UU might have a personal creed—a set of meaningful beliefs—that’s completely unique.

So when someone asks, “What do UUs believe?” we could say: A lot of things. But that’s not particularly helpful. It might be clearer to just say that there’s a better question to be asked.

Rather than asking what UUs believe, a better question is, “What do UUs promise?” Because instead of being creedal, we choose to be covenantal. Rather than a common set of beliefs, we choose to have a common set of promises: a covenant.

Covenants don’t restrict what people believe. They create a framework for how people will choose to be. Covenants are about actions. Behavior, not belief. Covenants define how we promise to show up with and for one another as embodiments of our values.

Unitarian Universalists collectively promise to actively affirm and promote specific things. This is what identifies us as a spiritual tradition, rather than a set of common beliefs.

For instance, our current language says that we “covenant to affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of existence, of which we are a part.” We could choose to demonstrate that respect in a variety of ways. And that respect could flow from a variety of beliefs. Our mutual promise says that we can count on one another’s behavior to reflect that respect—that sense of interdependence.

The proposed revision to our collective covenant frames the value of Interdependence this way: “We honor the interdependent web of all existence. We covenant to cherish Earth and all beings by creating and nurturing relationships of care and respect. With humility and reverence, we acknowledge our place in the great web of life, and we work to repair harm and damaged relationships.”

Some people like the more specific promise expressed here. It’s more explicit about what we mean when we talk about honoring the interdependent web of existence. The anticipated actions that reflect our covenant are less vague.

Some people prefer the more open language that currently exists in our principles. We might have less clarity about how others will fulfill the promise to affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of existence, but we can feel free to explore what it means for us personally to act with integrity to that mutual promise.

As we craft a congregational covenant, we don’t need to duplicate the promises we collectively share as Unitarian Universalists. Those are already part of what makes us a cohesive community. Our congregational covenant will be about our specific needs in our particular place and time.

We’re asking, What promises will allow us to grow into our vision of UU community? Which also means exploring, What is our common vision for community? And how might we honor our collective covenant as Unitarian Universalists in a way that is uniquely ours to express?