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Universism is a philosophy authored by Ford Vox in 2003 that is now the basis of a new religious movement numbering over 8,000 individuals [as of July 2005]. It is, Mr. Vox writes, the world's first "rational religion." By this he means that Universists eschew faith in forming their religious views. In its place, Universists advocate personal reason, personal experience, and personal intuition as a nondogmatic middle ground between science and faith. The Universist method acknowledges that there are certain existential, religious and moral questions science cannot address, and these form the basis of the individual search Universism advocates. Universists recognize that their own opinions about the nature of existence gleaned through their individual search are not universally applicable to others. The philosophy is designed to preclude the possibility of faith, its central tenet being that there is no universal religious truth. Universism argues that religion to date has been formulated incorrectly, or at least not in a manner harmonious with human peace and progress. By advocating faiths, religions insulate people from reality, causing misunderstandings that lead to hatred and violence. Mr. Vox writes "we are trying to solve a problem that has riddled mankind - an endless string of people who claim they know the Truth, the Way. And by extension, groups of people who apply that thinking to the secular world impacting civil society."
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