Welcome to About Us

Congregation seated in pews Many of us who had searched among the more orthodox religions for an understanding of the deeper things of life were relieved to have found a religious community in which we are encouraged and supported to think and explore for ourselves.

If you are searching for a community which respects your freedom to believe according to reason and conscience, we invite you to find out more about us.

Our Unitarian Ways

We believe that

  • everyone has a right to seek truth and meaning for themselves
  • fundamental tools for doing this are your own life experience, your reflection upon it, your intuitive understanding, and the promptings of your own conscience
  • the best setting for this is a community that welcomes you for who you are, complete with your beliefs, doubts, and questions
  • we are not required to assent to any creed or statement of faith; the emphasis is on being true to oneself
Tapwstry by Millie DonaldsonQuote by Leonard Mason
 

We can be called religious ‘liberals’

  • religious because we unite to celebrate and affirm values that embrace and reflect a greater reality than our self
  • liberal because we claim no exclusive revelation or status for ourselves; because we afford respect and toleration to those who hold different beliefs
We are called ‘Unitarians’
  • because of our traditional insistence on divine unity, the oneness of God
  • because we affirm the essential unity of humankind and of creation
 

Our Spiritual Exploration

Unitarianism has its roots in the Jewish and Christian traditions. The following two articles on ‘Christian or More than Christian’ and ‘Interfaith Understanding’ give a brief introduction to Unitarian spirituality and beliefs.

Christian...
...or more than Christian

The Unitarian movement arose and evolved in the Christian tradition. Today, most Unitarians in Britain are happy to acknowledge this living relationship in some way. Many are glad to call themselves free or liberal Christians.

It is recognised, though, that there are many people who find difficulty with the Judeo-Christian tradition. Unitarians are concerned to provide fellowship and worship which, while respecting the liberal Christian tradition, will have meaning for them too. Among Unitarians, there are those who find the focus of their faith elsewhere than in liberal Christianity, for example in religious humanism or Creation Spirituality.

Interfaith Understanding

Unitarians recognise that there will always be different ways of understanding and interpreting the human condition. They regard the existence of many diverse expressions of faith as inevitable, but also potentially enriching. They believe that learning to live with religious diversity is a major challenge for our times. As a result, Unitarians:

 

  • engage in dialogue with people of other faith traditions
  • promote opportunities for different religions to share their spiritual treasures in worship and celebration
  • are active locally and nationally in interfaith and ecumenical (inter-church) organisations
 

Internationally, Unitarians are proud to have been founder-members of the International Association for Religious Freedom (founded 1900). This has member groups from all the world’s major faith traditions—and a few more besides! Its activities include inter-faith dialogue and social action in many countries.

Unitarians in Edinburgh are associates of:

The Edinburgh Interfaith Association

For further information:

The International Interfaith Centre

The International Association for Religious Freedom

Annual Report

Our annual report can be found here

St Marks artSpace

Our St Marks artSpace project can be found here