Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious tradition that was formed from the consolidation of two religions: Unitarianism and Universalism. In America, the Universalist Church of America was founded in 1793, and the American Unitarian Association in 1825.

After consolidating in 1961, these faiths became the new religion of Unitarian Universalism through the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Since the merger of the two denominations in 1961, Unitarian Universalism has nurtured its Unitarian and Universalist heritages to provide a strong voice for social justice and liberal religion.

Some famous folks who aligned themselves with Unitarianism and/or Universalism:

• John Quincy Adams – US president
• Louisa May Alcott – children’s writer
• P. T. Barnum – circus owner
• Béla Bartók – composer
• ee cummings – poet
• Charles Dickens – author
• Dorothea Dix – social reformer
• Ralph Waldo Emerson – writer and thinker
• Elizabeth Gaskell – novelist
• Edvard Greig – composer
• Sylvia Plath – poet
• Mary Wollstonecraft – feminist
• Christopher Reeve – actor
• Tim Berners-Lee – creator of the web
• Pete Seeger – musician
• Lord Bullock – historian

Both religions have long histories and have contributed important theological concepts that remain central to Unitarian Universalism. To learn more about the history of Unitarian Universalism, please see the pamphlet, “Unitarian Universalist Origins: Our Historic Faith.”