... Unitarian Universalists are neither a chosen people nor a people whose choices are made for them by theological authorities, ancient or otherwise. We are a people who choose." ~ Rev. Forrest Church
... we do not have to check our personal background and beliefs at the door: we join together on a journey that honors everywhere we’ve been before. Our beliefs are diverse and inclusive. Rather than adhere to a single creed or canon, we share a covenant that supports the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Though Unitarianism and Universalism both began as liberal Christian traditions, this responsible search has led us to an inclusive spirituality drawn from six sources, from scriptural wisdom to personal experience to modern day heroes. Unitarian Universalists believe more than one thing. We think for ourselves, and reflect together, about important questions:
We are united in our broad and inclusive outlook, and in our values, as expressed in our seven Principles. We are united in shared experience; in our open and inspiring worship services, religious education, and rites of passage; our work for social justice; our quest to include the marginalized; and our expressions of love.
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) The central organization for the Unitarian Universalist religious movement in the United States.
Harvard Square Library A digital library for Unitarian Universalism.
The UUA is the central organization for the Unitarian Universalist religious movement in the United States. It serves the needs of its member congregations, organizes new congregations, extends and strengthens Unitarian Universalist institutions, and implements its principles. Our congregations and faith communities promote these principles through regular worship, learning and personal growth, shared connection and care, social justice action and service, celebration of life’s transitions, and much more.
Our faith tradition is diverse and inclusive. We grew from the union of two radical Christian groups: the Universalists, who organized in 1793, and the Unitarians, who organized in 1825. They joined to become the UUA in 1961. Both groups trace their roots in North America to the early Massachusetts settlers and the Framers of the Constitution. Across the globe, our legacy reaches back centuries to liberal religious pioneers in England, Poland, and Transylvania. Today, Unitarian Universalists include people of many beliefs who share UU values.
Each UU congregation is democratic; congregational leaders set their own priorities and choose their own ministers and staff. Congregations vote for the leaders of the UUA, who oversee the central staff and resources. The UUA supports congregations in their work by training ministers, publishing books and the UU World magazine, providing religious education curricula, offering shared services, coordinating social justice activities, and more.
(Right: Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray, President, UUA)
U.S. Presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, Thomas Jefferson, William Howard Taft.
Nobel Prize Winners: Albert Schweitzer, Linus Pauling in Chemistry, and, with Geoff Levermore for Peace; George Wald and David H. Hubel in Medicine; Herbert A. Simon in Economics; Robert Millikan and John Bardeen (twice) in Physics.
Arts & Letters: Louisa May Alcott, Phineas Taylor Barnum, Béla Bartók, Ray Bradbury, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, E. E. Cummings, Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Greta Gerwig, Horace Mann, Herman Melville, Paul Newman, Christopher Reeve, Pete Seeger, Rod Serling, Kurt Vonnegut, Alfred North Whitehead, William Carlos Williams, Joanne Woodward, Frank Lloyd Wright, N.C. Wyeth.
History, Politics, & Science: Ethan Allen, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, T. Berry Brazelton, Neville Chamberlain, Ezra Cornell, Morris Dees, Buckminster Fuller, Melissa Harris-Perry, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, Thomas Starr King, John Locke, Isaac Newton, Florence Nightingale, Keith Olbermann, Linus Pauling, Joseph Priestley, Paul Revere, Elliot Richardson, Arthur Schlesinger, Albert Schweitzer, Adlai Stevenson.