“Every religious tradition on which we draw has a reverence for life. We are a part of an intricate web of life. Every tradition on which we draw teaches that the ultimate expression of our spirituality is our action. Deep spirituality leads to action in the world. A deep reverence for life, love of nature’s complex beauty and sense of intimate connection with the cosmos leads inevitably to a commitment to work for environmental and social justice.” 
– Peter Morales

Our Imperative for
Social and Environmental Justice

As Unitarian Universalists, we covenant to work for a democratic, peaceful, equitable and earth-friendly world. Justice is the “public form of love.”

Unitarian Universalists have a long history of social justice activity stemming from the earliest days of Unitarianism and Universalism. We feel a responsibility as a religious community to stand up for people who are oppressed, to speak out for equality, and to safeguard the Earth. It is impossible to separate our faith from our work for social justice.

The imperative for Social Justice stems directly from three of the Six Sources of our faith:

• Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
• Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.

The “Golden Rule” – a precept found in most of the world’s religions – teaches us that we cannot live for ourselves alone, but must love our neighbor as ourselves.

Our Seven Principles speak directly to the obligation to care for our neighbor… as Jesus taught, to be like the Good Samaritan who had compassion for the suffering regardless of their race, creed, color, or social status. Four of our Seven Principles speak directly to this imperative for ethical living:

We affirm and promote:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Social Justice and Environmental Action

We are called to take action on a variety of issues, including civil liberties, economic justice, health, hunger, peace, energy, and the environment.

Our congregation has participated in Standing on the Side of Love Campaigns, provided food and shelter to farmworkers demanding a living wage, engaged in a year-long study of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration, invited Muslim leaders to conduct classes in response to intolerance and outright hostility to Muslims, campaigned for peace and against hate and for environmental conversation.  Our actions are both indirect, urging others to act, and direct, acting ourselves.     Our aim is to be a full throated voice for liberalism beyond party affiliation in Central Florida.