The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) was an umbrella organization founded in 1995 comprising many Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist organizations. It was dissolved in 2021 along with the Unitarian Universalist Partner Church Council to make way for a new merged entity. Some groups represented 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 Universalism 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.
Unitarianism is a Nontrinitarian branch of Christianity. Unitarian Christians affirm the unitary nature of God as the singular and unique creator of the universe, believe that Jesus Christ was inspired by God in his moral teachings and that he is the savior of humankind, but he is not comparable or equal to God himself.
The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans is an independent affiliate of Unitarian Universalists who identify with the precepts of classical or contemporary Paganism: celebrating the sacred circle of life and guiding people to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. CUUPS members foster the development of "liturgical materials based on earth- and nature-centered religious and spiritual perspectives" as well as encourage "greater use of music, dance, visual arts, poetry, story, and creative ritual in Unitarian Universalist worship and celebration." Many members of CUUPS embrace the cycle of seasons and beauty of all life forms found in nature. Unlike many mainline religious sects, Unitarian Universalists and Pagans both value the "sacredness in the present world rather than on an afterlife." CUUPS is a community open to all Unitarian Universalist members and those who support the tenets.
The Unitarian Universalist Religious Society of Spain was an attempt to organize Unitarian Universalism in Spain.
A flaming chalice is the most widely used symbol of Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism (UUism) and the official logo of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and other Unitarian and UU churches and societies.
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 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.
Starr King School for the Ministry is a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Oakland, California. The seminary was formed in 1904 to educate leaders for the growing number of progressive religious communities in the western part of the US. The school emphasizes the practical skills of religious leadership. Today, it educates Unitarian Universalist ministers, religious educators, and spiritual activists, as well as progressive religious leaders from a variety of traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, earth-centered traditions, and others.
Unitarian Universalism, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), as Non-Creedal and Liberal theological traditions, is an LGBTQ affirming denomination.
Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU) is a term used within the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in the United States and formerly the Canadian Unitarian Council. YRUU was an organization at the continental level primarily run by youth, ranging in age from 14 to 20, with mentoring adult partners. The continental organization of YRUU ended in 2008, but the term is still used by certain active youth groups and conferences at the congregational and district levels.
The Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is an Alaska-based congregation within the Unitarian Universalist Association. It was founded in 1955.
The Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (UUCF) is the main group serving Christian Unitarian Universalists within the Unitarian Universalist Association of the United States, whose main office is based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The UUCF was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1945, and can trace its roots back through the history of North American Christian Universalism and Unitarianism. As its bylaws put it:
We serve Christian Unitarians and Universalists according to their expressed religious needs; uphold and promote the Christian witness within the Unitarian Universalist Association; and uphold and promote the historic Unitarian and Universalist witness and conscience within the church universal.
Christ Church, more commonly known as the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship or First Universalist Church of Middletown is a historic Universalist church located at Middletown in Orange County, New York. It was built in 1901. It features an offset bell tower and Tiffany glass memorial window. Also located on the property is an earlier frame parish house.
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.
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport is a large active Unitarian Universalist congregation in lower Fairfield that is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Its dramatic building in Westport, Connecticut was designed by modernist architect Victor A. Lundy and completed in 1965. It won an award from Architect magazine. The congregation was founded in 1949 as "The First Unitarian Fellowship of Fairfield County" and changed its name to "The Unitarian Church in Westport" in 1964; in 2023 it changed it to "The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport." The building has been compared to E. Fay Jones' Thorncrown Chapel (1980) and to the wooden tent Lundy designed for the interior of his Unitarian Meeting House (1964) in Hartford, Connecticut. It's nickname New Ship Church is a reference to the Old Ship Church built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts.
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.
Beverly Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist ("UU") church in Chicago, Illinois.
