The Eighth Principle and UU Marin … A Refinement of our Covenant

“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

Some find the wording inartful or longwinded. Others believe that the issues it addresses have already been covered in the first Seven Principles. I would argue that the cruel reality of systemic oppression and the unconscious individual biases that inadvertently sustain it – demand that we Unitarian Universalists, if we are true to our covenant to “affirm and promote the inherent dignity of every person” (the First Principle from which all others flow), adopt this further refinement of our covenant.

As UUs, we are encouraged to continually explore truth and, when we arrive at a new level of understanding and clarity, to reflect that understanding and clarity in our covenant with one another. Our UU Principles were designed to be dynamic and organic. The First Principle was intentionally designed to be foundational. All the others – including this one – are essentially refinements. To date, over 250 UUA member communities have voted to add the Eighth Principle to their congregational covenant. Our UU Marin Board has already unanimously approved its adoption. It’s time now for our entire congregation to follow suit.

On June 4 th , when we gather for our annual congregational meeting, we will vote on the adoption of the Eighth Principle. I ask that each of you, based on your understanding of its history and its urgent intention, respond to the respectful request of our UU siblings that we add this refinement of the First Principle to our covenant with one another at UU Marin.

The adoption of the Eighth Principle is not the end – it is the beginning of …

• a renewed commitment to becoming more aware of our own limitations in understanding, and
• a more focused dedication to the well-being of ALL our neighbors – not just those most like us.

UU Marin members have a long and honorable tradition of reaching inwardly to grow in wisdom and grace, and acting outwardly to
provide solace and support to our siblings in need. In adopting this principle and in holding ourselves accountable – individually and as
a faith community – to working to “dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”, we are standing on the
shoulders of those who have gone before us at UU Marin – and those in our midst today who are dedicated to this important work.

~ ann carden ~

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An Outline of the History of the Proposed Eighth Principle

1960 – The first version of the six principles was adopted.
1984 – Environmental awareness reached a critical mass and the Seventh Principle was added. The modern form of the principles was also adopted.
1992 – The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) General Assembly (GA) passed the 1992 Resolution of Immediate Witness which, in part, affirmed the “vision of a racially diverse and multicultural Unitarian Universalism.”
1997 – GA reaffirmed and refined the 1992 Resolution when delegates voted that the UUA commit to intentionally becoming an Anti-Racist, Anti-Oppression Multi-Cultural organization (ARAOMC).
1997-2000 – There was good progress toward this goal. Programs and practices were focused on it … including Journey Toward Wholeness and Jubilee Anti-Racism Training Workshops. The goal was to move toward the realization of “Beloved Community [where] people of diverse racial, ethnic, educational, class, gender, abilities, sexual orientation and all other backgrounds and identities come together in an interdependent relationship of love, mutual respect, and care that seeks to realize justice within the community and in the broader world.”
2000’s – Funding and support from UUA for ARAOMC initiatives and the programs that supported them waned.
2013 – The first draft of the proposed Eighth Principle, by UU social justice leaders, Bruce Pollack-Johnson and Paula Cole Jones, was presented at the General Assembly Planning Committee retreat and later discussed by the members of the Council for Cross Cultural Engagement.
2020 – GA delegates voted to promote the Eighth Principle and to urge all UUA member congregations to adopt it. At that point, the present draft had already gone through multiple iterations and had been vetted at every level within UUA.
2023 – UU Marin joins the ranks of those UUA member congregations who have adopted and are living the spirit and intention of the Eighth Principle.