Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is an organization founded by

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

and

Myrtle Fillmore Mary Caroline "Myrtle" Page Fillmore (August 6, 1845 – October 6, 1931) was an American who was co-founder of Unity Church, Unity, a church within the New Thought Christian movement, along with her husband Charles Fillmore (Unity Church), Cha ...

in 1889. It grew out of

Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...

and became part of the

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...

movement. Unity is known for its ''

Daily Word The ''Daily Word'' is a daily inspirational message provided by Unity. Themes include inner peace, hope, healing, guidance, and others. It is distributed via print magazine, website, e-mail and through a mobile app. History ''Daily Word'' magazin ...

'' devotional publication. Unity describes itself as "for people who might call themselves

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as the sole or most valuable ...

Overview

Unity describes itself as a worldwide organization offering an approach to Christianity which teaches a positive approach to life, seeking to accept the good in all people and events. It began as a healing ministry and healing has continued to be its main emphasis. It teaches that all people can improve the quality of their lives through thought. Unity describes itself as having no particular creed, set dogma, or required ritual. It maintains that there is good in every approach to God and in every religion that fulfills someone's needs. It holds that one should focus not on past sins but on the potential good in all. Unity emphasizes spiritual healing, prosperity and the curing of illness by spiritual means, but it does not reject or resist medical treatments. It is accepting of the beliefs of others."Unity School of Christianity, The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 1987, Vol 12 P, 162.

History

Unity was founded in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, Missouri, in 1889 by Charles Fillmore (1854–1948) and

(1845–1931) after Mrs. Fillmore had been cured of her

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

, she believed, by spiritual healing. This resulted in the Fillmores' studying world religions, spiritual healing, and the links between science and religion. They were influenced by Dr. E. B. Weeks,

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

Emma Curtis Hopkins Emma Curtis Hopkins (September 2, 1849 – April 8, 1925 age 75) was an American spiritual teacher and leader. She was involved in organizing the New Thought movement and was a primary theologian, teacher, writer, feminist, mystic, and healer, w ...

and

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning ...

(the founder of

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

). In 1891, the Fillmores named the movement Unity, and began publishing their first magazine, ''Unity''. Later magazines included ''Wee Wisdom'' (for children) and ''Daily Word''. Book publishing began with ''Lessons in Truth'' by H. Emilie Cady. In 1906, Mr. and Mrs. Fillmore accepted ordination and ordained seven other ministers. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Unity Village, which became a 1,200-acre incorporated town, was developed 15 miles from Kansas City. After Charles Fillmore's death, the movement was initially led by the Fillmores’ sons and grandchildren. It originally described itself as a "positive, practical Christianity" which "teach sthe effective daily application of the principles of Truth taught and exemplified by

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Organization

Individual Unity churches are autonomous, each governed by its own board and minister, and seeking affiliation according to guidelines. Minister training, ministerial placement, and educational resources are offered at Unity World Headquarters, which also publishes magazines, books and pamphlets. The organization's prayer ministry, Silent Unity—a telephone and email service—offers prayer and counseling. Unity's other programs include the ''Unity Society of Practical Christianity'', ''Unity School of Christianity'', ''Unity Institute'', the Office of Prayer Research, the ''Association of Unity Churches'', and ''Unity House'', the church's publishing arm. Its headquarters are at Unity Village,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, a suburb of

. Each Unity Church sponsors its own chapter of Youth of Unity (YOU), a group of high school-aged teens who come together to learn Unity principles and spiritual practices. All the chapters in a YOU region meet at least once a year for a weekend retreat called a 'rally.' A seven-day International YOU Conference is held each summer at Unity headquarters at Unity Village, Missouri.

Basic teachings

Unity's

belief system A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to tak ...

is expressed as "The Five Principles." They are: #

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

is all there is and present everywhere. This is the force of love and wisdom that underlies all of existence. #Human beings are divine at their core and therefore inherently good. #

Thoughts In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

have creative power to determine events and attract experiences. #Prayer and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

keep us aligned with the one great power in the universe. #It is not enough to understand spiritual teachings. We must live the Truth we know. Unity aims to demonstrate that the teachings of

can be lived every day. Its followers believe that the true "Church" is a "state of consciousness in mankind." Unity teaches that each person is a unique expression of God and is sacred and worthy. It emphasizes the creative power of thought, and encourages taking personal responsibility to choose life-affirming thoughts, words and actions, to experience a more fulfilling and abundant life. H. Emilie Cady's 1896 book ''Lessons in Truth, A Course of Twelve Lessons in Practical Christianity'' is considered a core text of Unity.

God

Unity Church views

spiritual energy Proponents and practitioners of various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine refer to a variety of claimed experiences and phenomena as being due to "energy" or "force" that defy measurement and thus are distinguished from ...

which is present everywhere and is available to all people. Members of the church believe that God seeks only to express the highest good through everyone and everything. According to Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore: He later wrote that:

Jesus

Unity Church followers believe in the

divinity of Jesus In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...

. They believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the master teacher who demonstrated divinity and came to teach humankind, and that Jesus is the great example of God in physical form.

Nature of humanity

Unity Church teaches that all people are individual, eternal expressions of God, and that their essential nature is divine and therefore inherently good. Followers believe their purpose in life is to express their divine potential as demonstrated by Jesus, and that the more they awaken to their divine nature, the more they can do this.

Salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

, in the Unity view, is found in consciously understanding one's innate divinity, then putting that knowledge into practice in one's life.

Bible

Unity founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore studied the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

as history and allegory. They interpreted it as a metaphysical representation of each soul's evolutionary journey toward spiritual awakening. Unity considers the Bible a valuable spiritual resource, a complex collection of writings compiled over many centuries, and a reflection of the comprehension and inspiration of the writers and their times.

Affirmative prayer

Affirmative prayer is understood, in Unity, as the highest form of creative thought; that it includes the release of negative thoughts and the holding in mind of statements of spiritual truth. Unity teaches the use of

and

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifi ...

as a way to experience the presence of God, heighten the awareness of truth, and thereby transform lives. According to poet

James Dillet Freeman James Dillet Freeman (March 20, 1912 – April 9, 2003) was a poet and a minister of the Unity Church, a New Thought denomination. Freeman was born Abraham Freedman according to his Delaware Birth Certificate in Wilmington, Delaware but began us ...

Prayer is valuable not because it alters the circumstances and conditions of your life, but because it alters you.

Unity teaches that it is helpful to pray with the belief that we have already received all that we need, that through prayer the mind is renewed and the body transformed, and that awareness that we are conscious creators of our lives is the bridge from the old Christianity, where we are "

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, ...

ners", to the new understanding that we are "learners." The Unity School of Christianity holds that prayer is not a way to inform God of one's troubles, or to receive favors or preferential treatment, but to align one's self with the power that is God.

Relationship to Christianity

Unity emphasizes its agreements, not differences, with traditional Christians and stresses its concurrence with the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. According to Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore:

It has been generally accepted that Jesus' great works were miracles and that the power to do miracles was delegated to His immediate followers only. In recent years many of Jesus' followers have inquired into His healing methods, and they have found that healing is based on universal mental and spiritual laws which anyone can utilize who will comply with the conditions involved in these laws.

Unity considers itself a non-sectarian educational institution, although Unity ministers are ordained following their prescribed courses and training.

Notable members

Well-known people affiliated with Unity include

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work in the entertainment indus ...

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars duri ...

Lucie Arnaz Lucie Désirée Arnaz (born July 17, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Early life Arnaz was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of acto ...

David Friedman David Friedman may refer to: Music * David Friedman (percussionist) (born 1944), American jazz musician * David Friedman (composer) (born 1950), Broadway and film composer Film * David Friedman (actor) (born 1973), American film and TV actor and ...

, Wally Amos, actress

Michael Learned Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is a distinguished American actor, known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series ''The Waltons'' (1972–1981). She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress i ...

, Licensed Unity Teacher

Ruth Warrick Ruth Elizabeth Warrick (June 29, 1916 – January 15, 2005) was an American singer, actress and political activist, best known for her role as Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on ''All My Children'', which she played regularly from 1970 until her ...

Barbara Billingsley Barbara Billingsley (born Barbara Lillian Combes; December 22, 1915 – October 16, 2010) was an American actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in '' Three Guys Named Mike'' (1951), ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' (1952), and '' Inv ...

, Theodore Schneider,

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

Matt Hoverman Matt Hoverman is an American actor and playwright based in Los Angeles. He writes witty comedies for television (Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program), the theatre (FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Playwriting) and f ...

, author Victoria Moran,

Patricia Neal Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...

,Raven, Barbara C. ''Badge of Courage''. Unity Church of New York, 2002. Johnnie Colemon, and

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

References

External links

Official website of Unity World Headquarters

Official website of the Unity Church in Australia

Official website of the Unity Church in New Zealand

Official Website of the Unity Church in the UK

Daily Word:– Daily Bible Study Devotional Guide by the Unity Church

''Lessons in Truth, A Course of Twelve Lessons in Practical Christianity''

TruthUnity:– A repository of audio, video and text of Unity resources
{{Authority control 1889 establishments in Missouri New religious movements New Thought denominations Religious organizations established in 1889 Religious belief systems founded in the United States