Arkansas

The three largest Protestant denominations in Arkansas are: Baptist (42% of the total state population), Methodist (9%), Pentecostal (6%). LRY had drifted away from the Unitarian Universalist Association, and had severe internal problems that led to its collapse. The religious affiliations of the people are as follows:. Common Ground was called after the collapse of LRY (Liberal Religious Youth), the youth organization that preceded YRUU. Arkansas, like most other southern states, is overwhelmingly Protestant. It was created in 1981 and 1982, at two conferences, Common Ground 1 & 2. The five largest ancestry groups in the state are: American (15.9%), African American (15.7%), Irish (9.5%), German (9.3%), English (7.9%). YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) is the youth organization that exists inside the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Racially, Arkansas is:. A comprehensive discussion of Unitarian Universalism can be found in the book Challenge of a Liberal Faith by George N. Marshall (ISBN 0933840314). 48.8% is male, and 51.2% is female. These are often termed "seventh principle" activities because of the seventh principle quoted above.
As of 2003, the state's population was 2,725,714 according to Census Bureau estimates. Many congregations are heavily involved in projects and efforts aimed at supporting environmental causes and sustainability. See also: List of people from Arkansas. Gays and lesbians are regularly ordained as UU ministers, and services are performed recognizing committed same-sex relationships.

Its industrial outputs are food processing, electric equipment, fabricated metal products, machinery, paper products, bromine, and vanadium. Many UU congregations have undertaken a series of organizational and practical steps to be acknowledged as a "Welcoming Congregation", a congregation which has taken specific steps to welcome and integrate gay and lesbian members. The state's argiculture outputs are poultry and eggs, soybeans, sorghum, cattle, cotton, rice, hogs, and milk. Politically conservative Unitarian Universalists point out that neither religious liberalism nor the Principles and Purposes of the UUA require liberal politics. Its Per Capita Personal Income for 2003 was $24,384, 50^th in the nation. But the principles of compassion, respect, justice, and diversity are the foundation of all UU politics. The state's total gross state product for 2003 was $76 billion. Like the beliefs of Unitarian Universalists, their politics are decided by individuals.

Hot Springs National Park and the Buffalo National River can also be found within its borders. This is not to say that the politics of UUs are uniform. Arkansas is home to many caves, such as Blanchard Springs Caverns. Others work to end homelessness, racism, domestic violence, homophobia, sexual assault, and HIV/AIDS. Both are fertile agricultural areas and home to much of the crop agriculture in the state. Some work for causes such as environmental protection, peace, feminism, gun control, free speech, safe and legal abortion, and animal rights. The Grand Prairie is slightly away from the Mississippi river in the southeast portion of the state and consists of a more undulating landscape. Most Unitarian Universalists oppose the death penalty and many are active in political movements to end it in the US.

It gets this name from the formation of its rich alluvial soils formed from the flooding of the mighty Mississippi. William Sinkford, is African-American, making Unitarian Universalism the first traditionally white religion to be headed by a member of an ethnic minority. The land along the Mississippi river is referred to as the "Delta" of Arkansas. The current head of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Rev. The so called Lowlands are better known as the Delta and the Grand Prairie. The Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights are best known as Bloody Sunday, although technically that refers only to September 7, the most violent day of the three. Northwest Arkansas is part of the Ozark Plateau including the Boston Mountains, to the south are the Ouachita Mountains and these regions are divided by the Arkansas River; the southern and eastern parts of Arkansas are called the Lowlands. Reeb and approximately 20% of UU ministers marched with Martin Luther King in the three marches from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery.

Arkansas is a beautiful land of mountains and valleys, thick forests and fertile plains. Two weeks after his death, Viola Fauver Gregg Liuzzo, a Unitarian Universalist civil rights activist, was murdered by white supremacists after her participation in the protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Arkansas shares its southern border with Louisiana, its northern border with Missouri, its eastern border with Tennessee and Mississippi, and its western border with Texas and Oklahoma. and a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was clubbed in Selma, Alabama on March 8, 1965, and died two days later of massive head trauma. The eastern Arkansas border is the Mississippi River. Reeb, a minister at All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington, D.C. Arkansas is the only state in the US where diamonds are found naturally. James J.

The capital of Arkansas is Little Rock. UUs were and are still very involved in the fight to end racism in the US. See: List of Arkansas counties, List of cities in Arkansas, List of Arkansas townships.. It is therefore common to see Unitarian Universalists and Quakers working together. See: List of Arkansas Governors. Unitarian Universalists and Quakers still share certain principles, notably that they are creedless religions with a long-standing commitment to social justice. Each office's term is four years long. Anthony was a Unitarian and Quaker, and was extremely influential in the women's suffrage movement.

In Arkansas, the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor and thus can be from a different political party. Susan B. This arrangement is extremely rare in the modern South, were a majority of state and local offices are held by Republicans. In the nineteenth century, Unitarians and Universalists were active in abolitionism, the women's movement, and other liberal social reform movements. The State Legislature is overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats, and a majority of Statewide offices are held by Democrats. Unitarian Universalists have often been active in liberal political activism, notably the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement, the social justice movement, and the feminist movement. Three seats are held by Democrats Marion Berry (District 1), Vic Snyder (District 2), Michael Avery Ross (District 4), and one by Republican John Boozman (District 3). Another common covenant is as follows:.

The state has four congressional districts. Paul Beedle, former minister of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside (http://www.uuchurchofriverside.org), discusses the foundations of the faith, quoting a common Unitarian Universalist affirmation:. Senators are Democrats Blanche L. Lincoln and Mark Pryor. In his sermon Rev. Arkansas' two U.S. While the circumstances of this service were not ordinary, it is an excellent example of a Unitarian Universalist service in many ways. Tucker had been lieutenant governor under Bill Clinton and had become governor as a result of Clinton's election to the presidency. One UU service that was held the week after the September 11 attack is posted online (http://members.aol.com/revpaulbeedle/20010916.html).

This led to a state "Constitutional crisis" when Tucker refused to give up the governor's office for a short period of time, because the Arkansas Constitution does not allow a convicted felon to be governor of the state. But there are also UU congregations which have liked the term fellowship and retained it even though they have grown much larger. Huckabee, who had been elected lieutenant governor in a 1993 special election, ascended to the governor's office when Governor Jim Guy Tucker, a Democrat, was convicted of felony mail fraud as part of the Whitewater Scandal. These congregations tend to be younger and smaller than other UU societies and may favor less traditional service forms. The current governor of Arkansas is Mike Huckabee, a Republican. Some congregations are explicitly known not as churches but as fellowships. The traditional form "arkanSAW" was made official by the state legislature in 1881. Music is not limited to traditional hymns, but often includes instrumental music or singing songs from other traditions.

The state is the only one with an official pronunciation. Teenagers often participate in "Coming of Age," a program in which they explore their own personal beliefs and spirituality. Under the Military Reconstruction Act, Congress, by June 1868, had readmitted Arkansas, as well as North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Other rituals replace these traditions, including Water Communion, Flower Communion, and dedications of children and babies. Arkansas seceded from the Union on May 6, 1861 during the American Civil War. However, most UU churches do not perform the traditional Christian rites, such as baptism, or communion or confirmation, though many that continue these practices are also members of the Council of Christian Churches within the Unitarian Universalist Association (CXCUUA). On June 15, 1836, Arkansas became the 25th state of the United States as a slave state. There is usually a structured service that includes the singing of hymns and a sermon by the minister of the congregation.

Other Native American nations living in present-day Arkansas were Caddo and Osage Nation. Religious services are usually held on Sundays and often resemble, to a certain extent, the form and format of Protestant worship. The early French explorers of the state gave it its name, which is probably a phonetic spelling for the French word for "downriver" people, a reference to the Quapaw people and the river along which they settled. Other symbols include a slightly off center cross within a circle (a Universalist symbol associated with the Humiliati movement in the mid twentieth century) and a pair of open hands releasing a dove. USS Arkansas was named in honor of this state. The most common symbol of Unitarian Universalism is the flaming chalice, often framed by two overlapping rings that represent Unitarianism and Universalism. It was admitted in 1836. Some churches might be difficult to distinguish from a liberal Protestant church, while others might not seem like a church at all to members of more traditional faiths.

postal abbreviation is AR, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Ark. As in theology, Unitarian Universalist worship and ritual are often a combination of elements derived from other faith traditions alongside original practices and symbols. Its U.S. At first the new organization called themselves the "American Unitarian Association", but since the UUA is the owner of that name, they eventually agreed to call themselves the "American Unitarian Conference.". The population according to the 2000 census was 2,673,400. In 2000, a few Unitarian Universalists founded the American Unitarian Conference (AUC) for the purpose of promoting classical Unitarianism. Arkansas (pronounced [ˈɑrkənˌsɔ]) is a southern state in the southern United States. In 1995 the UUA helped establish the International_Council_of_Unitarians_and_Universalists (ICUU).

Williams Baptist College. In 2002, the CUC split off from the UUA. University of the Ozarks. In the same year, the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) formed and became an arm of the UUA to service the needs and interest of Canadian Unitarian Universalists. University of Central Arkansas. In 1961, the American Unitarian Association (AUA) merged with the Universalist Church of America (UCA), thus forming the Unitarian Universalist Association. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Both Unitarianism and Universalism evolved over time into inclusive, tolerant religions, without strict dogmas.

University of Arkansas at Monticello. One observation made years ago about Unitarianism and Universalism, long before their merger, was that (paraphrase) "Universalists believe that God is too good to condemn man, while Unitarians believe that man is too good to be condemned by God.". University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. These two religious bodies always had a great deal of commonality and communication between them; they were often associated in the public eye. University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 1793, Universalism emerged as a particular denomination in the United States, eventually called the Universalist Church in America. University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. It denied the doctrine of eternal damnation; instead, it proclaimed that a loving God would redeem all souls.

University of Arkansas. Universalism was another Christian heresy with a long history. University of Arkansas System