8th Principle Project – FAQs

What difference would the adoption of this principle make in the works of this congregation?

This adoption would strengthen our approach to seeing the racial justice work of this community as part of our spiritual responsibility not a separate effort
As a congregation, we have been actively engaged in the works of racial justice both internal and external to MDUUC since the creation of our congregation.
Our congregational commitment to the work of the Commission on Institutional Change “Widening the Circle of Concern” would be bolstered by the adoption of this principle
The COVID pandemic and the recent political and economic upheaval in our country and our world has underscored the importance of race in terms of access to resources and care in our community and beyond. Adopting this principle signifies our collective appreciation to work to dismantle those systemic injustices
Those UUs moving to our area who are justice oriented will understand adoption as a demonstration of commitment

What have we done so far to explore this adoption? This movement toward congregational vote seems to be moving fast.

What does this effort mean to the larger UU faith community?

Similarly to the importance to the LGBTQ+ community and the Welcoming Congregation program; the significance to the Environmental movement and the Green sanctuary program; Black, Indigenous and Other People of Color may find the 8th principle important when selecting congregational homes.
The principles of Unitarian Universalism are included in Article II of the UUA By-Laws. The UUA recently formed the Article II Study Commission and charged it with reviewing all of Article II, including our principles and the possible inclusion of an 8th principle.

Why should we address this issue when we are a predominately white congregation?

Oppressions such as racism not only affect the spiritual health of the targeted group, they also cause spiritual damage to the majority culture.

Also, now more than 1 in 10 of us identifies and Black, Indigenous or as a Person of Color (BIPOC) and those people are important to us. In addition, a significant number of our children and youth (not counted in that number) are BIPOC, many multiracial.

Similar statistics exist for our LBGTQI folks as well, another important population we were concerned with when we did Welcoming Congregation work.

What does it mean to embrace accountability?

It is important for us to be accountable to those within and beyond Unitarian Universalism who are people of color and others suffering oppression, lest change agents risk being paternalistic and imposing their own solutions.
An accountable relationship is a relationship between equals that recognizes everyone’s inherent worth and dignity.
Accountability can also mean talking active steps as we did when we included small reparations payments in our last two budgets

Can we change the words?

Why should we adopt something that is intended to shame white people?

The intention, as we stated, is AFFIRM our commitment to anti-oppression work, especially around race which has been a area difficult for us to address internally as a faith community as Unitarian Universalists.
When shame is a response to this discussion, it often comes from an individual’s past experiences. Addressing these internal self-generated messages of shaming is what our monthly Journey Towards Wholeness group for white people does.
Racism and other oppressions shift feelings of being shamed onto BIPOC and other targeted groups who are made to feel as if their experience are inadequate or “less than.” Countering these messages is one of the goals of our BIPOC Caucus.

Why another principle (this is implied in the other 7)?

When the 8th Principle project began, it addressed something vital that had been missing in our UU movement, namely that anti-racism and anti-oppression must be central to congregational life and our community building.
As noted, under a separate process happening now, the 7 principles are already under review with an expectation of significant revision (we will focus at this at other forums). If you are interested in that work, watch for conversations about the Unitarian Universalist Article II Study Commission