Editing Unitarian Universalism (section)

===Humanism and beliefs about divinity===
Although the predecessors of Unitarian Universalism, [[Unitarianism]] and [[Universalism]], find their origin in unorthodox beliefs about the nature of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[God]], modern Unitarian Universalists hold a variety of views about the nature and existence of deity. Most Unitarian Universalist congregations take no formal stance on whether or not a god or gods exist but leave it up to individual members to decide for themselves what they believe. Unitarian Universalists may be [[atheism|atheists]], [[agnosticism|agnostics]], and [[theism|theists]].<ref name="Beliefs About God">{{cite web |title=Existence of a Higher Power in Unitarian Universalism |url=https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/higher-power |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association |access-date=2022-12-17}}</ref> Among those Unitarian Universalists who use language of divinity, both [[monotheism]] and [[polytheism]] are common, and Unitarian Universalists hold a variety of beliefs about the nature of the divine.<ref name="Believe About God">{{cite web |editor-last=Rasor |editor-first=Paul |title=Unitarian Universalist Views of God |url=https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/higher-power/views |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association |access-date=2022-12-17}}</ref><ref name="Unitarian Polytheism">{{cite web |last=Beckett |first=John |title=Why Unitarian Polytheism Is Not An Oxymoron and Other Issues With Religious Institutions |url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2019/10/why-unitarian-polytheism-is-not-an-oxymoron.html|work=Ancient Oaks: Musings of a Pagan, Druid, and Unitarian Universalist |publisher=Patheos |date=2019-10-24 |access-date=2022-12-17}}</ref>

The diversity of beliefs about divinity in Unitarian Universalism can be accounted for because of the influence of [[religious humanism]] on the movement in the late nineteenth century. Although Unitarian Universalists believe that anyone can be a Humanist, regardless of their position on the use of the language of divinity, the rise of religious humanism within Unitarian Universalism enables members to be able to further question the existence and nature of the divine through its encouragement towards reason.<ref name="Humanism at 100">{{cite web |last=Willcox |first=Kris |title=Humanism at 100: Across a century of change, Humanism has continued to evolve |url=https://www.uuworld.org/articles/humanism-100 |work=UUWorld |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association |date=2017-02-15 |access-date=2022-12-17}}</ref> Fifteen of the thirty-four signers of [[Humanist Manifesto I]] were Unitarians and one was a Universalist. Unitarian Universalists were also a significant presence among the signers of [[Humanist Manifesto II|Humanist Manifestos II]] and [[Humanist Manifesto III|III]].<ref name="Saxon Humanism">{{cite speech |title=Thank God for Humanism |first=John L. |last=Saxon |event=Worship Service |location=Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh |date= |url=https://www.uufr.org/images/sermon-archive/thankgodforhumanism.pdf |access-date=2022-12-17 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217161508/https://www.uufr.org/images/sermon-archive/thankgodforhumanism.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Today, the majority of Unitarian Universalists in North America identify as Humanists. Although Humanism is seen as an evolving philosophy where the limits of science and reason are recognized, its tenets continue to play a large role in the thought of Unitarian Universalist congregations. Unitarian Universalist Humanists hold that the [[religious naturalism|naturalism]] of their Humanism encourages individuals to recognize the awe, beauty, and wonder of the natural world and recognize the interdependence between humans and other beings.<ref name="Humanism at 100" /><ref name="Saxon Humanism" /><ref name="Schulz Humanist legacy">{{cite web |last=Schulz |first=William F. |title=Our humanist legacy: Seventy years of religious humanism |url=https://www.uuworld.org/articles/unitarian-universalisms-humanist-legacy |work=UUWorld |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association |date=2003-11-01 |access-date=2022-12-17}}</ref>