Unitarian Universalism (otherwise referred to as UUism[1] or UU)[7][8][9] is a liberal religious movement[1] characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning".

[1][12][14] The beliefs of individual Unitarian Universalists range widely; they can include, but are not limited to, religious humanism,[1][2][12][15] Judaism,[4] Christianity,[4] Islam,[16] Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism, syncretism,[1] neopaganism,[1][12] atheism,[1] agnosticism,[1] New Age,[1][12] omnism, pantheism, panentheism, pandeism, deism, and teachings of the Baháʼí Faith.

[23] New England Universalists rejected the Puritan forefathers' emphasis on the select few, the Elect, who were supposed to be saved from eternal damnation by a just God.

[28] Christian Universalism denies the doctrine of everlasting damnation, and proclaims belief in an entirely loving God who will ultimately redeem all human beings.

[32] There, the first doctrines of religious freedom in Europe were established (in the course of several diets between 1557 and 1568, see Edict of Torda) under the jurisdiction of John Sigismund, King of Hungary and Prince of Transylvania, the only Unitarian monarch.

[citation needed] Influenced by the Socinian doctrine of the Polish Brethren, the Unitarian minister Samuel Clarke (1675–1729) revised the Book of Common Prayer, removing the Trinitarian Nicene Creed and references to Jesus as God.

[36] Once laity and clergy relaxed their vehement opposition to the Doctrine of the Trinity Act 1813, which finally allowed for protections of dissenting religions, the British and Foreign Unitarian Association was founded in 1825.

[42] These churches, whose buildings may still be seen in many New England town squares, trace their roots to the division of the Puritan colonies into parishes for the administration of their religious needs.

The UUA and the United Church of Christ cooperate jointly on social justice initiatives such as the Sexuality Education Advocacy Training project.

However the continual decline of denominational churches and the almost complete failure of the Universalist movement in Canada had caused the formation of the Council to prompt a plan to merge with the UUA.

Unitarian Universalism encourages its members to draw on the world's religions as well as the words and deeds of prophetic people as inspiration for their spiritual journeys.

[59][60] The diversity of beliefs about divinity in Unitarian Universalism can be accounted for because of the influence of religious humanism on the movement in the late nineteenth century.

Although Humanism is seen as an evolving philosophy where the limits of science and reason are recognized, its tenets continue to play a large role in the thought of Unitarian Universalist congregations.

[67][68] In June 2024, the UU General Assembly voted to replace the 7 principles in Article II of the UUA bylaws with a new covenant of 6 values, centered on Love.

Unitarian Universalist thinkers have long recognized the need to bring belief and action together and encourage their members to go into the larger world and improve it.

Many Unitarian Universalist congregations include Buddhist-style meditation groups, Jewish Seder, Yom Kippur and Passover dinners, iftaar meals (marking the breaking of Ramadan fast for Muslims), and Christmas Eve/Winter Solstice services.

As in theology, Unitarian Universalist worship and ritual are often a combination of elements derived from other faith traditions alongside original practices and symbols.

In some agnostic historiographies the flaming chalice displayed a vague resemblance to a cross in some stylized representations, relying on the sepulchral traditions of the Hospitallers.

Pastoral elements of the service may include a time for sharing Joys and Sorrows/Concerns, where individuals in the congregation are invited to light a candle or say a few words about important events in their personal lives.

John Haynes Holmes, a Unitarian minister and social activist at The Community Church of New York—Unitarian Universalist was among the founders of both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), chairing the latter for a time.

James J. Reeb, a minister at All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was clubbed in Selma, Alabama on March 8, 1965, and died two days later of massive head trauma.

Two weeks after his death, Viola Liuzzo, a Unitarian Universalist civil rights activist, was murdered by white supremacists after her participation in the protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

"[102] Unitarian Universalists have been in the forefront of the work to make same-sex marriages legal in their local states and provinces, as well as on the national level.

In December 2009, Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the bill to legalize same-sex marriage for the District of Columbia in All Souls Church.

Later, the UUA issued internal, supplemental material to emblems-program workbooks that included general statements critical of discrimination on bases of sexual orientation or personal religious viewpoint.

[108] In 2004, the Unitarian Universalist Scouters Organization (UUSO), a group not affiliated with the UUA, established their "Living Your Religion" emblems program for UU-BSA scouts.

(In addition to humanists, these people comprehend atheists and theists, agnostics, skeptics and seekers, non-member affiliates, the religion-alienated and others among the larger UU congregation.)

[116] Meant to serve as a kind of handbook to be read alongside the Bible, it provides interpretative strategies from a liberal religious perspective for the reader to engage in conversation about the Bible—what it says and what it means today.

[122] In April 2018, The Washington Post reported that the UUA "in the past year has been asked to help resolve 15 congregational conflicts involving religious professionals of color".

Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and featuring a sample size of over 35000, puts the proportion of American adults identifying as Unitarian Universalist at 0.3%.