The Unity Church, also known as the Unity School of Christianity, is a New Thought Christian organization that was founded in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. It is one of the major denominations in the New Thought movement along with Religious Science and the Church of Divine Science.
The Fillmores had been studying various metaphysical teachings when they came across the teachings of New Thought pioneer Emma Curtis Hopkins. They felt deeply inspired by her message that our thoughts and beliefs create our reality. Charles had been struggling with a chronic illness but after applying Hopkins’ principles, he experienced a dramatic healing. This convinced the Fillmores that right thinking and faith could transform one’s life.
In 1889, the Fillmores established Unity in Kansas City, Missouri. The organization grew quickly as the Fillmores traveled and taught their principles through speeches and publications. Some of Unity’s key teachings included:
- God is a divine presence within each person, not a separate being.
- People can transform their lives and heal illness by changing their thoughts and attitudes.
- Prayer is focused thought that affirms oneness with God and shapes reality.
- Christ is the universal principle of divine love and wisdom rather than just one historical figure.
- Heaven and hell are states of consciousness rather than actual places.
- Truth is found within each person rather than imposed from an external authority.
Unity aims to integrate spiritual teachings with positive thinking and modern psychological insights. Unlike some New Thought groups, Unity still considers itself Christian, seeing Jesus as a Master Teacher whose teachings represent core spiritual truths.
By the 1920s, Unity had over a million followers and had spread across America. Today, the Unity headquarters remains in Kansas City but the organization has approximately 400 churches nationwide. Their flagship publication, Daily Word, provides daily inspirational meditations and has over 3 million subscribers in over 100 countries.
Unity continues to evolve and grow. While grounded in universal spiritual principles, the church aims to use modern language and ideas to interpret those principles for contemporary times. Unity accepts and affirms the diversity of all people, actively welcoming members of the LGBTQ community.
Here are some key aspects of Unity’s theology and worldview:
God
Unity views God not as a personified deity but rather an impersonal divine energy or presence that infuses all of life. God is universal spirit, the source from which everything springs. God is within each person rather than external or separate.
This God is entirely good, loving, and positive. The presence of God within makes health, abundance, and happiness available to all. Unity aims to teach people to recognize and activate their innate divine potential through right thinking and meditation.
Jesus Christ
For Unity, Jesus is a Master Teacher and Way-Shower who expressed the Christ potential in humanity. He embodied the pattern of divine love and wisdom that exists within all people. But Unity does not see Jesus as the one and only Son of God. Rather, the “Christ” represents the divine consciousness that Jesus perfectly expressed but exists in potential within all humans.
Unity aims to follow Jesus’ teachings and example in order to manifest the Christ potential within each person. But Jesus is not seen as a savior who will return to rescue humanity. Instead, people save themselves by awakening to the divine light and love already present within.
The Bible
Unity respects the Bible as an important spiritual text but does not take a literalist approach to interpreting it. Passages are understood metaphorically and allegorically as representing universal human experiences and stages of consciousness.
The Bible is not considered the definitive or only word of God. Revelation and truth can emerge through various writings, traditions, science, art and personal experience. But the Bible remains a valuable source of history and spiritual teachings for gaining wisdom.
Humanity
Unity sees all humanity as essentially divine and eternal. Every person has unlimited potential reflecting the Creator’s abilities. But ignorance of our divine nature creates problems and limitations. The point of life is to realize the Godlike qualities already inherent within.
No one is condemned or separate from God. There is no concept of original sin, just the process of gradually awakening to the divinity within. Unity aims to help accelerate that process of self-realization through spiritual mind treatment and other practices.
Spiritual Mind Treatment
A core practice in Unity is “spiritual mind treatment,” a meditative technique similar to affirmative prayer. It involves entering a receptive state of consciousness, then vividly affirming desired qualities or conditions. This might involve statements like:
- “I am one with the wisdom and intelligence of God.”
- “My body is healed and whole in this moment.”
- “I now gratefully receive abundant blessings.”
The goal is to align one’s mind and consciousness with qualities of the Divine to allow them to emerge within and shape one’s life. Regular treatments aim to gradually transform a person’s state of being.
Healing
Unity emphasizes spiritual healing, with sickness seen as the result of blocked connection with Divine Love and Life. Healing is about remembering one’s spiritual identity and dissolving false beliefs in separation from God.
Physical methods are not rejected but seen as secondary. Prayer support and affirmations aim to evoke an inner shift, allowing the body’s natural healing abilities to operate unimpeded. Unity provides spiritual healing through prayer and does not forbid medical care.
Prosperity
Lack or struggle is seen as contrary to God’s nature of abundant good. Unity aims to dissolve a consciousness of scarcity and cultivate an awareness of infinite supply. Tithing and generosity are encouraged to express faith in always having enough.
Wealth is not considered an end in itself but a natural byproduct of living in attunement with Divine Law. Unity seeks prosperity of mind and spirit first, with physical abundance following.
Afterlife
Unity views the afterlife as continuation of the creative learning process started on Earth. There is no fixed heaven or hell, just spiritual evolution across lifetimes and dimensions. Eventually souls may gravitate back toward merger with the Absolute.
Life’s ultimate purpose is the discovery and manifestation of one’s divine potential. Transitioning does not change this basic aim. Unity’s focus remains on spiritual awakening in the here and now, rather than speculating about the specifics of life after death.
Evil
Unity does not personify evil as a being or demonic force. Evil represents the separation in consciousness from God’s love, wholeness and harmony. Ignorance, fear, destructive beliefs and patterns create this illusion of separation enabling negative conditions.
No one is inherently evil or condemned. Through expanded awareness, unconditional love, and higher choices, anyone can progressively dissolve their blocks to good. The essence of each person remains divine, whole and incorruptible.
Self-Empowerment
Unity emphasizes personal responsibility for shaping one’s experience through consciousness and choice. Change begins within and translants outward. No external Savior provides a “quick fix.” The Divine resides within waiting to emerge as individuals claim their identity as cocreators.
By dismantling limiting beliefs and aligning with higher vision, anyone can experience radical improvement. The spiritual path requires commitment to the ongoing work of transforming consciousness, not passive waiting.
Prayer
Prayer is universal communication of mind with Mind, recognizing inner communion with Divine Presence. Affirmative prayer is a core practice, involving stating desired qualities as present realities. But prayer also includes contemplation, meditation, and “listening” for inner guidance.
Prayer is meant to align one’s vision and consciousness with expanded good rather than just make requests for specific favors. It is seeing through God’s eyes rather than trying to manipulate God into fulfilling ego desires.
Meditation
Meditation is practicing conscious union with God. Methods involve concentrating on uplifted thoughts, centering in peaceful awareness, pondering spiritual truths, and opening to divine presence. Prayer and meditation combine speaking and listening, actively affirming and receptively allowing.
Regular meditation expands capacity to perceive inner guidance and access creative solutions. Quiet time with Spirit integrates high realizations into everyday consciousness, enabling inspired action.
Acceptance
Unity encourages acceptance rather than resistance. Struggling against perceived problems or fighting outer conditions perpetuates them. Letting go and allowing enables higher possibilities to emerge. Effort is put into visualizing and aligning with Divine ideals rather than combatting surface conditions.
This attitude of accepting “what is” in the moment regulates thoughts and emotions. It enables one to act from inspiration rather than reaction. Responding with understanding love transforms difficult situations.
Personal Responsibility
Unity calls each person to claim responsibility for their experience rather than playing victim or blaming others. Life’s primary purpose is recognized as an inner journey of awakening rather than pursuing outer goals.
This ethic empowers one to notice how thoughts, beliefs and reactions shape circumstances. Monitoring consciousness and aligning choices with spiritual truth leads to freedom and fulfillment.
Self-Care
Attending to physical, emotional and mental wellbeing enhances receptive awareness of inner guidance. The body-temple serves spiritual evolution. Self-care and lifestyle choices aim to create an energy signature that resonates with higher vibrations.
Balanced living enables clarity of perception and alignment with Divine Mind. The purified vessel expresses higher qualities. Conscious self-care allows the Divine Design to manifest.
Positive Thought
Thoughts are creative forces. Repeated negative or fearful thoughts solidify into adverse conditions. Sustained optimistic thoughts attract blessings and shape beneficial outcomes.
Monitoring thought patterns and redirecting the mind’s content toward the good spiritually cleanses one’s consciousness. Divine qualities naturally flow through thoughts aligned with God’s essence.
Affirmative Prayer
Affirming desired qualities as already present brings them into manifestation. Stating spiritual truths until they feel real ignites transformed awareness. This foundational practice repatterns consciousness through repetitive reinforcement.
Seeing through the eyes of Divine Mind awakens higher perception. The transformed consciousness outpictures in positive ways. Consistent affirmative prayer disciplines thought and feeling.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is selectively focusing on God rather than error. Letting go of judgments allows Divine Love to dissolve blocks spawned by grievances. Resentment sinks consciousness while forgiveness lifts to freedom.
Forgiveness is an act of self-liberation. Novel visions emerge once congesting grievances dissipate. Inspiration requires forgiving thoughts. Progress depends on freeing oneself whenever judgments arise.
Oneness
Unity focuses on the underlying unity rather than surface diversity. All people are interconnected expressions of the One Spirit. Humanity is a single family, alike in essence though playing varied roles.
This attitude of oneness builds bonds. It inspires tolerance and compassion for all people. Recognizing the universal desire for happiness and freedom unites humanity in shared purpose.
Wholeness
Wholeness is acknowledging and integrating every aspect of one’s being. It is making peace with one’s humanity along with awakening spirituality. Shadow elements provide contrast clarifying sacred purpose.
Embracing light and dark develops humility and wisdom. Allowing all within fosters honesty, authenticity and deeper connection. Wholeness enables full expression of the sacred Self.
In summary, the Unity Church aims to awaken within each person the recognition of their divine nature, helping them live an enlightened, empowered, and abundant life through spiritual practices and principles. It provides a progressive, flexible, and inclusive interpretation of Christianity centered on inner divinity and creative right thinking.