What Does the UCC Say You Have to Believe or Do in Order to Be “Saved”?

The UCC has no single teaching about salvation. In fact, many members of the UCC are probably very uncomfortable with the fundamentalist view that some people are “saved” and will “go to heaven” while others are “lost” and will “go to hell.” This idea rigidly divides human beings into two opposing groups and encourages a type of exclusivism or elitism in churches. We believe that any person who sincerely searches for God is on the right track. Each individual has a personal history and personal spiritual needs which must be met uniquely. Some may feel the need to be “born again,” while others may not. The Apostle Paul himself seems to recognize this when he writes, “work out your own salvation in fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you” (Philippians 2:12-13).