What is Article II and What Does it Mean for Our 7 Principles?
Worship and Discussion
Article II is the section of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s bylaws that includes our 7 Principles and Purposes. Over the past five years, there have been proposals to amend or update our 7 Principles, including adding a proposed 8th Principle committing ourselves to the work of anti-racism, beginning first within our own congregations.
Two years ago, the UUA Board created an Article II Study Commission to take a look at our bylaw language, including the 7 Principles and Purposes and to recommend updated language to reflect where we are now as a faith movement. This is not the first time our Principles and Purposes have been revised since what we have now as 7 Principles was created in 1985, nor will it be the last time.
The Article II Commission issued a report last month, which you can access HERE. The newly revised language has done away with the 7 Principles and substituted instead new statements centered around the values of Love, Interdependence, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Generosity, and Justice. While none of this newly proposed language changes anything we do in our church on a Sunday morning, it is an important restatement of the values and intentions that drive our faith.
Rev. Gretchen will be preaching about these newly proposed Article II revisions on Sunday, March 5th, and we will host a discussion following worship for anyone interested to come to talk about these proposed changes. In preparation for the March 5th service and talk-back session, we encourage you to download and read the brief Article II Commission Report beforehand. The Article II proposed language will be presented for a first vote at the June 2023 General Assembly in Pittsburgh, PA. Murray representatives will have a chance to weigh in and share their opinions and vote on these language changes at General Assembly. If that vote is successful at General Assembly this year, a final confirmation of the Article II wording will be presented for a final vote at General Assembly in 2024 before the new language is adopted.
- Access Article II Study Commission Report HERE.
- And please refer to the UUA.org website for additional history.
