Editing Unitarian Universalism (section)

===Politics of Unitarian Universalists===
{{Main|Christian left|Progressivism in the United States}}
{{progressivism}}
[[File:Civil marriage is a civil right.JPG|right|thumb|upright=1.15|A Unitarian assembly in [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], Kentucky<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstulou.org/ |title=First Unitarian Church of Louisville |publisher=Firstulou.org |access-date=2011-02-27}}</ref>]]

Historically, Unitarian Universalists have often been active in political causes, notably the [[civil rights movement]],<ref>Smith, Amanda, [http://www.gainformer.com/files/Unitarian%20Universalists.htm Unitarian Universalist Church Has Rich Civil Rights History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112110637/http://www.gainformer.com/files/Unitarian%20Universalists.htm |date=12 January 2020 }}</ref> the [[LGBT social movements|LGBT rights movement]],<ref>UUA [https://www.uua.org/lgbtq/witness/policy "Unitarian Universalist Policy and LGBTQ Issues"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033040/https://www.uua.org/lgbtq/witness/policy |date=1 December 2017 }}</ref> the [[social justice]] movement, and the [[feminist movement]].

[[Susan B. Anthony]], a Unitarian and [[Quaker]], was extremely influential in the women's [[suffrage]] movement. Unitarian Universalists and Quakers still share many principles. It is therefore common to see Unitarian Universalists and Quakers working together.

Unitarian Universalists were and are still very involved in the fight to end [[racism]] in the United States. [[John Haynes Holmes]], a Unitarian minister and social activist at The Community Church of New York—Unitarian Universalist was among the founders of both the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) in 1909 and the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU), chairing the latter for a time. [[James J. Reeb]], a minister at [[All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)|All Souls Church, Unitarian]], in [[Washington, D.C.]], and a member of the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]], was clubbed in [[Selma, Alabama|Selma]], [[Alabama]] on March 8, 1965, and died two days later of massive head trauma. Two weeks after his death, [[Viola Liuzzo]], a Unitarian Universalist civil rights activist, was murdered by white supremacists after her participation in the protest march from Selma to [[Montgomery, Alabama]]. The [[Selma to Montgomery marches]] for voting rights are best known for [[Bloody Sunday (1965)|Bloody Sunday]], which refers to March 7, 1965, the most violent of the three marches.

The past head of the Unitarian Universalist Association 2001–2009, [[William G. Sinkford]], is [[African-American]], making Unitarian Universalism one of the first traditionally white denominations to be headed by a member of a racial minority.<ref>Maxwell, Bill; 11 April 2008; "Leading the Unitarian Universalist Association, a faith without a creed"; ''St. Petersburg Times''</ref>

While [[Modern liberalism in the United States|political liberals]] make up a clear majority of Unitarian Universalists, the movement aspires to diversity, and officially welcomes congregants regardless of their political views. Politically conservative Unitarian Universalists point out that neither theological liberalism nor the Principles and Purposes of the UUA require liberal politics. Like the beliefs of Unitarian Universalists, politics are decided by individuals, not by congregations or the denomination.
[[File:Ibram X. Kendi How to Be an Antiracist (48625586627).jpg|thumb|[[Ibram X. Kendi]] presenting his new book ''How to Be an Antiracist'' at Unitarian Universalist Church located in [[Montclair, New Jersey|Montclair]], New Jersey, on August 14, 2019]]

Several congregations have undertaken a series of organizational, procedural and practical steps to become acknowledged as a "[[Unitarian Universalism and LGBT topics#Welcoming Congregation|Welcoming Congregation]]": a congregation which has taken specific steps to welcome and integrate gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender (LGBT) members. Unitarian Universalist ministers perform [[same-sex unions]] and now [[same-sex marriages]] where legal (and sometimes when not, as a form of civil protest). On June 29, 1984, the Unitarian Universalists became the first major church "to approve religious blessings on homosexual unions."<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E0DB1539F93AA15755C0A962948260 "Unitarians Endorse Homosexual Marriages"], UPI, ''The New York Times'', 29 June 1984.</ref> Unitarian Universalists have been in the forefront of the work to make same-sex marriages legal in their local states and provinces, as well as on the national level. Gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians are also regularly [[ordained]] as ministers, and a number of gay, bisexual, and lesbian ministers have, themselves, now become legally married to their partners. In May 2004, [[Arlington Street Church (Boston)|Arlington Street Church]], in Boston, Massachusetts, was the site of the first state-sanctioned same-sex marriage in the United States. The official stance of the UUA is for the legalization of same-sex marriage—"Siding with Love". In 2004 UU minister Debra Haffner of [[The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing]] published ''An Open Letter on Religious Leaders on Marriage Equality'' to affirm same-sex marriage from a multi-faith perspective. In December 2009, Washington, D.C., Mayor [[Adrian Fenty]] signed the bill to legalize same-sex marriage for the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] in [[All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)|All Souls Church]].

[[Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory Awareness]] engages Unitarian Universalist ministers and other leaders to educate them on [[polyamory]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uupa.org/|title=UUPA|website=uupa.org|access-date=23 May 2020|archive-date=5 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205181452/http://uupa.org/}}</ref> At the 2015 [[General Assembly (Unitarian Universalist Association)|UUA General Assembly]], the Association's non-discrimination rule was amended to include the category of "family and relationship structures";<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/bylaws/ruleii/section-c-23-non-discrimination |title=Unitarian Universalist Association: Rule II, Section C-2.3.: Non-discrimination |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103753/http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/bylaws/ruleii/section-c-23-non-discrimination |archive-date=2015-05-18}}</ref> the UUA has yet to take specific follow-up action on this, however.

Many congregations are heavily involved in projects and efforts aimed at supporting environmental causes and [[sustainability]]. These are often termed "seventh principle" activities because of the seventh principle quoted above.