Denominational Profile

History

Universalist Church in America
American Unitarian Association

merged intoUnitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (1961)

The Unitarian Universalist Association was formed in 1961 by the merger of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church in America. The merger represents the coming together of the two oldest segments of the liberal tradition. Unitarian Universalism is a creedless religion with Judeo-Christian roots. It draws also from Eastern, humanist, and other religious traditions, and encourages its members to seek religious truth out of their own reflection and experience.

Membership Data

Year	Clergy	Churches	Members
1961	992	786	147,031
1962	1,043	859	153,689
1963	1,094	859	164,474
1964	1,103	-	167,892
1965	1,044	863	166,622
1968	1,135	968	282,307
1969	1,076	868	265,408
1973	961	882	200,405
1974	946	864	192,510
1976	942	881	184,552
1977	945	904	180,240
1978	936	898	136,207
1979	988	942	139,052
1982	935	949	131,844
1983	945	949	169,168
1984	943	1,018	170,510
1985	948	1,041	171,838
1986	956	1,069	173,167
1988	956	1,140	178,623
1989	1,010	1,252	182,211
1991	1,020	1,210	141,315
1999	-	1,400	216,931
2000	-	1,051	220,000
2001	171	1,010	214,738
2002	171	1,010	214,738
2007	1,752	1,046	221,476
2009	1,773	1,048	221,367

Data were taken from the National Council of Churches' Historic Archive CD and recent editions of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. Denomination descriptions provided by Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR). [More information on data sources]