Unity is a worldwide Christian
organization more than a century old. Because of similarity in names,
Unity has on occasion been confused with other organizations. However,
there is no connection between Unity and Unitarianism or the Unification
church.
Unity is an extremely positive approach to life, seeking to accept the
good in people and all of life. God is seen as having many attributes, but
most important that God is LOVE. Unity stresses that God is not a physical
man in the sky, for this limits Him. God is Spirit, everywhere present,
the one and only Spirit behind, in and through all things, visible and
invisible.
Unity denies the existence of any power or presence opposed to God. It
sees that there are evil appearances and suffering in the world, but
ascribes these to man's ignorance and erroneous use of God's laws of life.
Unity proclaims the divinity of Jesus, but goes further and assures that
you, too, are a child of God and, therefore, divine in nature. Jesus
expressed His divine potential and sought to show us how to express ours
as well. Salvation is then the expanding understanding of one's innate
divinity and perfectibility through living the life demonstrated by Jesus.
Unity explains the mind as your connecting link with God or Divine Mind
and shows how the action of your mind affects your body and circumstances.
Much emphasis is placed on the effective power that every thought,
feeling, word and act has upon your life. Prayer is not seen as a
technique for changing God, but for expanding and transforming your mind,
and thus changing you.
Unity seeks to relate religion to daily needs, affirming that for every
need there is God's perfect answer. Its main textbook is the Bible and it
relates its lessons to your life and everyday experiences.
Unity does break from tradition some in that it has no creedal
requirements, dogma, ritual or ecclesiastical garb. Unity chooses to
believe that there is good in every religion. Different religions are like
spokes on a wheel with the hub being God. They may be set apart by a
variance of beliefs and approaches, but they are all seeking the one God
as the hub of all life. Consequently, Unity does not deny anyone the right
to have their own beliefs.
Unity sees worship as serving God by uplifting and glorifying God's spirit
in man, in positive, joyous ways. It seeks not to emphasize one's sins of
the past, but instead gives attention to the good that exists in every
person and what can be done with the now to transform one's self and one's
life.
Its main concern is not so much with a "future life", but with teaching
people how to live fully in the present, seeing the good in all things.
Unity also believes in eternal life and views the present moment as part
of eternal life.
Unity does not impose any financial burdens or pressure on its adherents.
It believes the desire for giving should be initiated from within the
giver to reap the joys of sharing. Consequently, all support is by
freewill offerings.
Unity is non-denominational and welcomes in dignity and love, people of
all races, colors, religions, social backgrounds and economic levels.
In summation, Unity emphasizes the divine potential within every child of
God and teaches that through a practical understanding and application of
what Jesus taught, every person can realize and express his or her divine
potential for a happier, fuller and more successful life.
