The Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist congregations in Canada. It was formed on May 14, 1961, initially to be the national organization for Canadians belonging to the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) which formed a day later on May 15, 1961. Between 1961 and 2002, almost all member congregations of the CUC were also members of the UUA and most services to congregations in Canada were provided by the UUA. However, in 2002, the CUC formally became a separate entity from the UUA, although the UUA continues to provide ministerial settlement services. Some Canadian congregations have continued to be members of both the CUC and the UUA, while most congregations are only members of the CUC.
The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) is an umbrella organization founded in 1995 comprising many Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist organizations. Some groups represent only a few hundred people; while the largest, the Unitarian Universalist Association, had more than 160,000 members as of May 2011—including over 150,000 in the United States.
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America. Both of these predecessor organizations began as Christian denominations of the Unitarian and Universalist varieties respectively. However, modern Unitarian Universalists see themselves as a separate religion with its own beliefs and affinities. They define themselves as non-creedal, and draw wisdom from various religions and philosophies, including humanism, pantheism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Islam, and Earth-centered spirituality. Thus, the UUA is a syncretistic religious group with liberal leanings.
Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a dynamic, "living tradition". Currently, these traditions are summarized by the Six Sources and Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism, documents recognized by all congregations who choose to be a part of the Unitarian Universalist Association. These documents are 'living', meaning always open for revisiting and reworking. Unitarian Universalist (U.U.) congregations include many atheists, agnostics, and theists within their membership. There are U.U. churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world. The roots of Unitarian Universalism lie in protestant liberal Christianity, specifically unitarianism and universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love. Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.
A variety of religious emblems programs are used by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to encourage youth to learn about their faith and to recognize adults who provide significant service to youth in a religious environment. These religious programs are created, administered and awarded by the various religious groups, not the BSA, but each program must be recognized by the BSA.
The Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) provides a ministry to isolated Unitarian Universalists (UUs). Its mission also includes growing Unitarian Universalism by supporting small congregations and new UUs around the world. The CLF also offers resources to Unitarian Universalists active in local congregations.
The Meadville Lombard Theological School is a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, Illinois.
The Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship (UUBF) is a "Related Organization" to the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Formed in the early 1990s, the UUBF exists to facilitate dialogue among UU Buddhists and other UUs interested in Buddhism and its practices. It is open to all Unitarian Universalists who are Buddhists of any tradition or who are interested in learning more about Buddhism. The UUBF publishes a newsletter, the UU Sangha, and posts back issues in an archive on its website. The website also has a list of UU Buddhist and meditation groups and contact information. Instructions for joining the UUBF Listserv are there also. Each year there is a UUBF booth in the exhibit hall at UUA General Assembly. Every other year, in odd years, the UUBF holds a Convocation.
Liberal Religious Youth (LRY) was an autonomous, North American youth organization affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). LRY was unique as a church youth group in that it was governed solely by its members, who were generally between the ages of fourteen and nineteen years old, with adults serving only in an advisory capacity. Though partial funding and office space were provided by the UUA, primary funding was through an independent endowment, the investment of which was controlled by the LRY board of directors.
Our Whole Lives, or OWL, is a series of six comprehensive sexuality curricula for children, teenagers, young adults and adults published by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries. Publication was the result of seven years of collaborative effort by the two faiths to prepare material which addresses sexuality throughout the lifespan in age appropriate ways.
Coming of Age is a Unitarian Universalist program in which a congregation fosters the transition of its children into youth. Although COA programs vary by congregation, they typically mark the individual's transition from younger religious education programs into a youth group, District-level/Regional Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU), as well as National and Continental-level YRUU. Not all youth will enter into all of the levels of programming above, though entering into at least congregational-level YRUU is very common. At least one of the UUA districts holds a series of COA retreats to supplement congregational COA programs.
The Rev. William G. Sinkford is a Unitarian Universalist minister who served as the seventh president of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), from 2001 to 2009. His installation as UUA president made him the first African American to lead that organization, or any traditionally white religious denomination in the United States.
Unitarian Universalism, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) have a longstanding tradition of welcoming LGBTQ people.
Religion in Scouting and Guiding is an aspect of the Scout method that has been practiced differently and given different interpretations over the years.
Peter Morales is the former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Morales was the UUA's first Latino president. In the early 2000s, he was the senior minister of the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Jefferson County, Colorado, a rapidly growing Unitarian Universalist congregation in the northwestern Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area. He also worked for the UUA from 2002 to 2004. In 2008, he announced his candidacy for president, and in 2009 he was elected. As the result of a controversy regarding the UUA's hiring practices and charges of institutional racism, Morales resigned as president in 2017, three months before the end of the term.
The Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF) is a Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregation located in Durham, North Carolina. In 2018, over seven hundred people were members of ERUUF, making it the largest UU congregation in NC and one of the largest in the UUA. It sponsors the UU campus ministry program at Duke University, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship @ Duke.
Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit is a Unitarian Universalist ("UU") congregation in Summit, New Jersey, formally organized in 1908 as The Unitarian Church in Summit. It is active in social justice initiatives and received the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Social Justice Award in 2010. It has also been recognized as an outstanding UU congregation by various UU groups and has one of the largest UU Youth Groups in the country. It features a "top–notch music program and has had a string of renowned preachers." In 2016, Reverend Dr. Robin Tanner was chosen as the Minister of Worship and Outreach and member of the Leadership Team which includes Executive Director Dr. Tuli Patel and Minister of Congregational Life Rev. Emilie Boggis.
Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory Awareness (UUPA) is an independent organization of Unitarian Universalists seeking to promote greater understanding and acceptance of polyamory within the Unitarian Universalist Association and its member congregations.
Chalica is a holiday celebrated by some Unitarian Universalists. It traditionally begins on the first Monday in December and lasts seven days, though a seven-week variant beginning in January is also observed. On each of the seven nights, a different principle of Unitarian Universalism is honored. On each day, a chalice is ignited, the day's principle is read, and ways of honoring the principle are enacted, such as volunteering or donating to a social justice cause. There is no rule for how the chalice or display should look, but there are traditionally seven candles around the chalice, one for each principle. Activities on each day vary, and may include discussions, group activities, and songs.
Susan Frederick-Gray is President of the Unitarian Universalist Association. She is the first woman to be elected to the office.
