The Unity Church
Model introduction for a research paper on the Unity church:
The Unity Church is a denomination within the larger New Thought Movement. It is largely recognized through it publication of the Daily Word magazine and website. The Unity Church was founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in Kansas City in 1889 after Mrs. Fillmore was cured of tuberculosis as the result of what they claimed was spiritual effort.
The Unity Church and Belief
Much of the Unity Church's belief system comes from an 1896 book, Lessons in Truth, by H. Emilie Cady. The belief system is focused on the following five pillars:
- God, as the source of the universe, is present everywhere
- Human beings are spiritual creatures possessing God's spirit within
- Life experiences are the result of a person's thinking
- Affirmative prayer has power
- People must live these beliefs in their daily life
The Unity Church as a Christian Based Religion
The Unity Church considers itself to be a Christian-based, nonsectarian educational organization. Under Unity thought, for example, Jesus Christ is a divine figure, but all individuals share in the divine nature of God and the term "Christ" can apply to this divinity. God is not an anthropomorphic being in the Sky, but rather a spirit or Divine Energy that creates and sustains the universe. Affirmative prayer is the highest spiritual practice in the Unity Church, one in which the person can both experience God and transform their life, in becoming aligned with the spiritual power that is God.