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The First
UNIVERSALIST  CHURCH
(Unitarian Universalist Association)

of New Madison

Social Justice

Unitarian and Universalist Social Witness began when the faiths began—hundreds of years ago. It is both impossible and undesirable to separate Unitarian and Universalist history from the social and political movements of those years. When the Unitarians and the Universalists merged in 1961, the resulting Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations inherited a proud legacy of social justice activism. Following are two ways our denomination articulates and democratically adopts our social justice positions: 

Actions of Immediate Witness

Actions of Immediate Witness are proposed and voted on at the same General Assembly. As the name suggests, they deal with issues that are particularly time-sensitive. Since they are not subject to congregational review, they are not considered policy of the Association—just the viewpoint of the General Assembly itself. They must be passed by a two-thirds vote.

Statements of Conscience

The UUA takes social witness positions by passing a Statement of Conscience (SOC). The SOC process takes three years. This process begins with individual congregations submitting a Study/Action Issue (SAI) proposal to the Commission on Social Witness (CSW). The CSW selects five SAI’s to present to the delegates at the annual General Assembly of Congregations and one is selected to continue the process for possible Statement of Conscience. For a detailed explanation, see "Unitarian Universalists Speak Out! for Social Justice," compiled by the Commission on Social Witness. SOC’s adopted since 1961 are organized into 16 topics which include Aging, Bisexuals, Civil Liberties, Ecology, Economic Justice, Gay Men, Human Rights, Lesbians, Racial Justice, and Religious Freedom. To view all SOC’s, go to http://www.uua.org/actions/#list

 The Commission on Social Witness facilitates and oversees the Statement of Conscience and Actions of Immediate Witness process. For more information, or to contact a member of the CSW, see UUA Commission on Social Witness. They can also be reached via email at socialwitness@uua.org.

For information on statements that are currently in the process--namely Study/Action Issues and Statements of Conscience--please see the website of the Commission on Social Witness at www.uua.org/csw.

The UUA Advocacy and Witness (A&W) team is comprised of the UUA staff whose primary responsibility is to take Unitarian Universalist values out into the wider world. It works to insert Unitarian Universalist perspectives into public debates on the matters of the day through media advocacy, through working in partnerships with other religious and secular organizations who share our viewpoints, and through empowering local congregations to do the same.

First Universalist Church of New Madison, Ohio, is proud to be a member of a denomination that declares its social justice positions to the world at large and acts on them in accordance with our seven Principles.