Its roots lie in the Reformation of 16th-century Europe. At that time Protestant Christians claimed the right to read the Bible in their own languages and to interpret it for themselves.

Some who did so found that it spoke of one God, without qualification. This did not square with the orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which says that God consists of three "persons". Because these people believed God to be a "unity" rather than a "trinity" they became known as "Unitarians".

Unitarians have been around for centuries. We are not a manifestation of the New Age movement. Nevertheless, as with any phenomenon relating to human spirituality, Unitarians are prepared to look at the vast range of New Age practices and ideas with an open mind.

Having done so, though, it must be said that many of us regard a good deal of what we see as highly suspect, even dangerous. Old superstitions have been revived, new ones developed, and populist pseudo-scholarship favoured over the real thing. We Unitarians value our heritage as rational religionists, as well as valuing life's spiritual dimension. Much New Age material seems to fail the tests of both reason and healthy spirituality.

On the other hand, Unitarians also see valid and valuable insights in some of what is dubbed "New Age". In particular, many Unitarians welcome holistic interpretations of the human person or the planet. We are prepared to see the value of some forms of alternative and complementary medicine, for example. We also share the revival of interest in a spirituality that focuses on the natural world, and believes we must get back to living in harmony with it. This is an area where our civilisation has much to learn. We are also sympathetic to approaches that value the intuitive and the feminine.

The whole New Age movement reflects the spiritual hunger of our times. Some of its responses to that hunger are highly dubious, but others deserve serious, though discriminating, attention. Unitarians are willing to give that.

We would not wish to dismiss anything that genuinely meets a need. Neither, though, do we wish to retreat into the spiritual and mental obscurity of a pre-Enlightenment, pre-scientific age that is anything but "New"!

"God" is a very subjective word.

Unitarians recognise this and do not presume to define God for others. We believe that everyone should be free to encounter the Great Mystery for themselves "without mediator or veil", as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it.

However, most Unitarians would use the word "God" to signify that which they believe to be of supreme worth. God is that which commands ultimate reverence and allegiance. God is the inspiration and the object of those who seek truth in a spirit of humility and openness. For some, Christian language about God as a loving, personal power -- father-like, as Jesus experienced -- comes closest to their own belief. Increasingly, the feminine aspect of the divine is recognised too -- God as Mother, the Goddess. Many experience God as a unifying and life-giving spirit: the source of all being, the universal process that comes to consciousness as love in its creatures. Some use the word "God" to signify the human ideal, the noblest visions and aspirations of humanity against which we measure ourselves. God as an inward presence -- the "still small voice" -- means more to many than any external power.

Such understandings are not, of course, mutually exclusive. There are some Unitarians who avoid using the word "God" altogether. For them it has become debased or corrupted by abuse, or simply doesn't mean anything to them. Does all this sound confusing? Only if you really think that God -- that which is ultimate in the universe and in our lives -- can be reduced to one neat formula. Human experience suggests otherwise, and Unitarians accept this.

Unitarians believe that Jesus was a man, unequivocally human.

It has long been our view that to talk of him as God is unfaithful to his own understanding of himself. The New Testament accounts describe a Jewish man, chosen, raised up, adopted and anointed by God. They claim that the divine purpose was that Jesus should reconcile first the Jews and then all humanity to each other and to God. This would prepare the way for the Messianic age of peace.

Jesus stood both in the prophetic tradition of such figures as Isaiah and Hosea, and in the kingly line of David. His ministry took place in a primarily Jewish context. His challenge to a corrupt priesthood in the Jerusalem Temple made him powerful enemies. These found common cause with the ruthless Roman authorities. The result was his crucifixion, a supreme example of human integrity and faithfulness in the face of human evil. Unitarians do not see the crucifixion as a blood sacrifice for sin.

Whatever Jesus' own perception, his followers -- like him, all faithful Jews -- believed him to be the Messiah, "the anointed one"; in Greek, "the Christ".

Today's Unitarians are not first-century Jews. We cannot share their perspective. However, Jesus' teachings and what we know of his life lead Unitarians to regard him as a major (some would say the major) figure in humanity's spiritual journey. While honouring him we do not worship him, something we believe he would not have wanted.

Most Unitarians do, but with perhaps three separate, although not mutually exclusive, perspectives.

First there is the view that in the stories of Jesus' Resurrection we have a powerful myth. This celebrates the triumph of the human spirit, exemplified in Jesus, over all that would crush it, and even over death.

Second, from a more specifically Christian standpoint, is the belief that the loving spirit of Jesus triumphed over death and passed into the community of disciples who formed the early church. The body of the faithful thus became the physical resurrection, the risen body, of Christ. Inasmuch as a religious community continues to embody that loving spirit, then it continues to embody the resurrection. Most Unitarians would doubt the literal veracity of the Gospel resurrection accounts. Some, though, see them as based on vivid spiritual experiences undergone by several of Jesus' followers in the aftermath of his death. These then played an important part in convincing the disciples that his spirit was still among them.

The third principal way in which Unitarians celebrate Easter is as the festival of life's renewal in the spring. The earth's resurrection after winter's apparent death is something that affects us profoundly as dependent children of nature. Many Unitarians therefore feel that it is a time of deep spiritual significance in itself. They point out that the word "Easter" is derived from "Eastre", the name of the ancient Anglo-Saxon Goddess of spring, fertility and renewal.

The short answer has to be "No". Few, if any, Unitarians think of the Devil as having any objective existence. If we speak of him at all, which we rarely do, it is as a mythical being. In this sense the Devil is only the mythic personification of all the evil and malice of which human beings are capable.

The linguistic root of the word "devil" has to do with division. Therefore the Devil could be taken as a mythic symbol of that which divides what should be united -- human community, the integrity of creation, the wholeness of the human person. Any suggestion that he is more than this is seen by Unitarians as a descent into superstition -- with very real dangers for the psychologically vulnerable.

The same can be said for "demons" and the like. Where our ancestors, and even some today, see demon-possession, Unitarians see mental illness.

We take a similar view of Hell, traditional abode of the Devil. When Unitarians speak of Hell it is in this-worldly terms. We may use the word to describe the very real states of spiritual desolation and alienation into which human beings can fall. Hell might be described as the sense of utter separation from God, or the inability to give or receive love. Unitarians do not see Hell as the domain of an "anti-God" or as a divinely ordained place of punishment. Indeed, we do not see it as a place at all.

"Sin" is a word with baggage attached. That is why Unitarians often avoid it, or use it only sparingly. But this does not mean that we pay no attention to the issues the word involves.

A Unitarian view of sin might be this: to sin is wilfully to act, speak, or even think in a way that ones own conscience condemns as wrong. Alternatively, sin is the failure to act, speak or think in ways that one knows to be right. Or again, to sin is to fall short of the standards of conduct that ones own faith or ethical system regards as ideal. It is missing the mark that we set ourselves. And because we all fall short in this way, there is no room for smugness, self-satisfaction, and self-righteousness.

Although Unitarians may not like to use the word "sinners", we would agree that we are all imperfect, flawed beings when set beside our models of the ideal. However, we generally take the view that sin is essentially a personal thing. Each one of us is responsible for himself or herself, although the consequences of our sin will affect others, both now and in the future.

The remedy for sin is a process of contrition, repentance, and forgiveness. That is, true regret, a turning away from what conscience condemns, and a loving acceptance of the sinner. The giving and receiving of forgiveness -- including self-forgiveness -- are necessary for healing to take place. Through forgiveness (human or divine) the wholeness and fellowship that sin fractures are restored. Unitarians believe that we must always be ready to forgive. It is no part of our practice to load people with guilt. A burden of guilt is destructive both spiritually and psychologically.

The notion that we human beings inherit a burden of sin from Adam and Eve -- that we are conceived in sin and born sinners -- finds no favour with Unitarians. We are more likely to see the story of the Fall in Genesis as a mythic portrayal of every person’s journey. It represents the life-journey from the innocence of infancy through the harsh transition of adolescence to adulthood and the awakened consciousness of sexuality, responsibility, and mortality. Unitarians see no inherent or inherited guilt or depravity here, no need for blood-sacrifice to buy back the soul. Jesus, Unitarians affirm, lived out his message of selfless love to the bitter end. Our own sin, our own false and selfish consciousness, is overcome inasmuch as we too can live lovingly and selflessly, no matter what the cost.

Unitarians hold a wide variety of beliefs on this subject. Some have a very firm belief in personal survival beyond death, and cite evidence to support it.

Others -- probably most -- are less categorical, perhaps believing that in some way all that constitutes a human being continues to exist after death. However, they would not wish to be specific about how, where or in what form. They might talk in terms of the soul or spirit returning to God. They might say that the essence of a person is rewoven into the spiritual life of the universe, just as the body's constituents are reworked into the universe's physical dimension. Some are interested in exploring the various theories of reincarnation. The persistence of a person's ideas, genes and more intangible influences would be as much as many Unitarians would be prepared to concede. Some prefer to say nothing at all, being content to "take one world at a time". Most, though, would also point to the continued existence of individuals in the memories and lives of those who knew and loved them, and would see in this a source of comfort.

Whatever our position, most Unitarians agree that this is an area of mystery. Many theories exist, many claims are made, but undisputed evidence is hard to find. Unitarians take the view that, in any case, the focus of our attention should be this world. Our concern is better directed to considering how we should live our lives in the here and now. A life well-lived is the best preparation for death, what-ever may lie beyond it.

With our belief in individual religious freedom, can Unitarians give any moral guidance? If Unitarians are free to "build their own theology", are we not free to build our own morality? Can there be any shared moral standards, or are all free to behave as they please?

One point a Unitarian might make is that unless your moral standards are truly your own, then they do not really constitute morality. If they are simply imposed on you, then they are just a means of social control and nothing more. Of course, a commonly accepted "moral framework" must exist in any human society. But this is not enough, unless people also have a personal morality, an ethical code that is truly their own.

A Unitarian view of morality does not favour untrammelled individualism. Unitarian acceptance of the underlying unity and connectedness of humanity comes into play here. We don´t live in isolation. We are members of society, with a responsibility to help make it work. We may be individuals, with a right to our own beliefs, but we are also social beings. As such it is incumbent upon each of us to behave in ways that respect others and make our community, and our world, a better place for everyone. In building a personal morality we may well learn from the teachings and example of others, but the crucial point is to make it ours. One of the traps in the area of morality is to pay more attention to other people´s behaviour than to one´s own. Judgementalism and self-righteousness can result.

Unitarians are suspicious of any morality that is too rigid in its decisions or which is lacking in mercy. Such "morality" often comes with a religious label attached. But a liberal religious Unitarian morality offers another model: one that imposes the highest standards on oneself, while treating others with justice and compassion.

Building Your Own Theology is the title of a series of adult religious education courses devised by Richard S. Gilbert, a Unitarian Universalist Minister. They are widely used in Unitarian congregations.

Unitarians tend to see their faith in this-worldly terms. This means that we see the spiritual sphere as inextricably linked with the ordering of human affairs. Our religion is in constant dialogue with the world as it is, and thus with the political and social issues of the day.

In this we make no claim to be different from many people in other denominations and faith traditions. Indeed, Unitarians find many points of contact with other people of faith on matters relating to social, economic, and environmental justice.

Inasmuch as these matters are political in the broadest sense, then Unitarians do mix religion with politics. This means, for some, active involvement in campaigns, marches and demonstrations. It may mean lobbying politicians and making legislators aware of Unitarian concerns in particular areas of policy. It means using one's democratic rights responsibly and purposefully for the common good. It means focusing on political and social issues in worship in order to explore their spiritual implications.

Unitarians are interested in the whole range of challenges facing our society and our world. We believe that our liberal religious ethos, our affirmation of human dignity, and our one-world vision have something valuable to offer in this regard.

However, although many Unitarians are active in the social and political sphere, as a movement we are not aligned with any political party or single-issue political organisation. Unitarians can be found across the whole spectrum of democratic political parties, sometimes as dedicated activists. They can also be found in all manner of groups campaigning on humanitarian and environmental issues.

As a movement, Unitarians are religious, not political, but our religion has political implications, and our politics have a spiritual foundation.

As people who place their primary religious concern on life in this world, Unitarians are much concerned with environmental issues. Historically, we have been deeply interested both in the scientific study of our natural environment and in seeing it as a spiritual resource -- alive with the divine.

This remains the case today. Unitarian devotional writing and hymnody reflect a deep sense of the sacredness of the natural world. Many Unitarians are active in environmental and conservation organisations. Unitarian worship often reflects spiritually on these subjects, and also celebrates the natural cycle of the seasons.

Among Unitarians there is considerable interest in " creation spirituality " (not to be confused with " Creationism " ). Unitarians may see creation spirituality in a Judaeo-Christian context: the creation as blessing, as the pregnant manifestation of God's unfolding creative power. They may also look to other traditions which, for example, see the earth as Mother -- to be revered and respected -- with all natural phenomena replete with spiritual significance.

Whatever the theological underpinning (which some may not see as necessary anyway) care for the environment is now seen as an important aspect of liberal religious life. This is both for its own sake and for the sake of all present and future generations of the earth's inhabitants. Unitarians regard the maintenance of a sustainable, diverse and beautiful environment -- "natural" and "human" as needful for our survival and our wellbeing as a species.

The Unitarian view of religious authority contrasts with those held by many other traditions.

It is often the case that a religious organisation, whatever its size, vests spiritual authority in a holy book, a creed or confession of faith, in a hierarchical structure or priestly caste, or in some charismatic leader or authority figure. Although this authority may be seen by its own adherents as divine or a mediation of the divine, the Unitarian view is that it remains essentially human, regardless of claims made by it or for it.

Unitarians are sceptical of any claim to be in exclusive possession of religious truth. In the final analysis, all human beings have the same access to the evidence. All human beings can have a direct relationship with the ultimate, with God. All human beings can see the universe for themselves. All have the potential for an interior life of the spirit.

Although someone may develop spiritually within a particular faith tradition, such development is greatest when the believer is in active and critical dialogue with it. To be unthinkingly submissive to it, on the other hand, is fraught with dangers.

Unitarians believe that the seat of religious authority lies within oneself. This is not an arrogant claim. All people develop their own belief-system, whether they articulate it or not. All people choose what to accept or reject from the propositions on offer. The Unitarian approach is, therefore, to recognise that each person is his or her own final authority in matters of faith. Our liberal religious ethos grants full individual freedom in this regard.

However, we also see the necessity of religious community, of exposure to the beliefs, doubts, and insights of others. This provides the necessary checks and balances that prevent belief descending into self-indulgence, fantasy, and a blinkered self-centredness.

To be a Unitarian is to take responsibility for one's own faith. It is to value the intuitions of oneself and others. It is to test one's beliefs against reason and conscience. It is to afford others the same right to be honest with their own inner authority as one claims for oneself.

Within the Unitarian historical tradition there have been many strands. These include deeply devotional Christian and Theistic forms, as well as a strong belief in the necessity of reason.

Religious humanism has also played its part, by locating the focus of spiritual concern wholly in our life in this world rather than in realms or beings deemed supernatural.

Another long-standing, and now resurgent theme, is that of nature or the creation as replete with spiritual significance.

In a sense, there has always been something of a shifting balance between two tendencies. On the one hand, there is the rational, scientific and discursive. On the other, there is the intuitive, the emotional and -- in its true sense -- the mystical. While there may not be a single Unitarian spirituality, it could be said that the spectrum of Unitarian spirituality covers this range.

Unitarians would not see the poles of this spectrum as in opposition. We see a healthy spirituality as one that holds in balance the intuitive and the rational. Active respect for both the mind and the deepest emotions is necessary for wholeness of spirit.

This respect for all the aspects of one's own being extends also to other people. A willingness to recognise the spiritual core of another person's faith in this profound and balanced way liberates us from the tendency to be distracted by the particular forms, concepts, and words in which they express it.

Some congregations celebrate Christian communion several times a year. This is a simple memorial act, associating those present with Jesus and all who have followed him. It may also look beyond the Christian tradition to embrace all people of goodwill, whatever their faith. Unitarians also celebrate other forms of communion, notably the Flower Communion. Devised by Czech Unitarian minister Norbert Capek in the 1920s, this is a celebration of unity in diversity, both within the congregation and in the wider world.

The various forms of Unitarian communion, traditional and otherwise, are concerned with the celebration of connectedness, sharing and community. They express in a simple and informal ritual the links we have with each other in the present and with those in the past in whose footsteps we follow. They may also express our membership of the wider humanity and the whole matrix of life on earth.

All forms of Unitarian communion are open unconditionally to anyone who wishes to participate in the spirit of goodwill.

No two Unitarian weddings are exactly alike. This is because no two couples getting married have precisely the same beliefs and aspirations about what they are doing. Unitarians help those planning their wedding to make it an occasion that is unique to them.

If the ceremony is really to mean something, then it is essential that it reflects what the couple really feel. In preparing for the wedding, the couple are encouraged to talk and think very seriously about what they want for the ceremony and, more importantly, for their continuing life together.

Rather than impose a standard form on weddings, Unitarians help couples to plan their own service. This includes not only choosing favourite readings, hymns, and music but more importantly choosing and even writing their own vows. Nothing is imposed that the couple do not want or cannot say in all sincerity (provided that certain legal requirements are met). Unitarians believe that for a couple to plan their own wedding service is the best preparation for it.

The Minister, or celebrant, is ready with advice and guidance only.

Unitarians impose few preconditions on a couple other than that they be truly and seriously committed to their relationship as life-partners. The fact that one or both of them may have gone through a divorce is not, in itself, an obstacle. Unitarians think that people should have the chance to build anew, and to do so with the blessing of the religious community.

Unitarians are also happy to marry couples where the partners are of different faiths, and to reflect both faiths in the service.

Same-Sex Marriage
The Unitarian General Assembly gave its support to the introduction of same-sex marriage in England and Wales and Scotland in 2012, building upon its support for inclusion and equality for LGBT people. Each individual congregation has to register its building (if it has one) and either appoint authorised persons or ensure that a registrar is present to undertake a legally valid same-sex marriage. Unitarian congregations are often the only churches in a local area to have done so.  Conversion ceremonies from civil partnership to same-sex marriage may also be held in registered premises.  A few Churches are registered to perform civil partnerships in religious premises.  Blessing ceremonies continue to be held after a civil ceremony.  Further information is available here. Please also contact the local congregation to ascertain how they can assist.

Addendum, February 2015

A trained and educated professional ministry has always been an integral component of the Unitarian movement, and this remains the case.

In the Unitarian context, the Minister is not a member of a distinct priesthood. There is nothing a Minister does that, in principle, a lay person may not do. A Minister is simply a person who has been prepared and appointed to fulfil a role that others may not have the time, the inclination, or the skills to fulfil themselves. A Minister is a leader of worship, a pastor, an educator, a counsellor, a facilitator, and perhaps the representative of the faith community in the wider society.

Appointment of a Minister is in the hands of the congregation, not the denomination, although the denomination keeps a Roll of Ministers as a way of maintaining personal and professional standards.

The Unitarian ministry is open equally to women and to men, and has been since the early 20th century. It is open to homosexual and to heterosexual people -- with no prejudicial conditions imposed on either.

The Unitarian movement also has lay people fulfilling a ministerial role in a proportion of its congregations. Such recognised lay leaders must undergo appropriate training. Sometimes lay leadership is a preliminary step towards gaining full ministerial status.

Both Ministers and lay leaders receive training and theological education at colleges, situated in Manchester and Oxford, and there is also provision for Welsh-speakers to prepare for the ministry in Aberystwyth.

Human beings are infinitely varied. So too are their cultures and the conditions in which these evolved. Furthermore, the universe and its mysteries -- including the human psyche -- cannot be entirely comprehended by our limited powers of thought and description. For these reasons Unitarians recognise the inevitability of many diverse expressions of faith.

Unitarians do not say that all religions are the same. Nor do we say that all are of equal worth. What we do say is that no honest and sincere expression of belief should be discounted out of hand. To judge another's faith is presumptuous and dangerous. All true expressions of the religious impulse come from our encounter with the wonder and mystery of the universe. All result from the joy and pain, the highs and lows of our life-experiences in this world. Thus all have something to say and to teach.

However, between the original experiences at the root of a faith tradition and the development of its religious institutions much can happen. Interpretation, rationalisation, elaboration and corruption come into play. At every stage what happens is subject to the vagaries of human beings. This means that any claim to absolute and exclusive truth must be treated with the utmost reservation, if not suspicion.

Thus Unitarians afford respect to all sincere believers of whatever faith. We seek to learn from the witness of all spiritual traditions, but we do not do so uncritically.

Unitarians were pioneers in the area of interfaith dialogue, and founded the world's oldest global interfaith organisation, the International Association for Religious Freedom. Unitarians are also active in many local interfaith organisations and initiatives.

The Flaming Chalice has become the generally accepted "badge" of Unitarianism over the past fifty years. It was first adopted by the American Unitarian Service Committee during the Second World War.

Since then, Unitarians throughout the world have seen it as a way to express their distinct identity as a liberal religious community.

The man who designed it was a Czech named Hans Deutsch, and his inspiration was the Czech religious reformer, Jan Hus. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415 for the "heresy" of offering the chalice of communion to the laity as well as the clergy.

Recalling this, we Unitarians offer our own "chalice of communion", symbolising the religious community itself, to all people without condition or reservation. When and where Unitarians actually celebrate communion, the understanding becomes literal as well.

The flame atop the Unitarian chalice represents the spirit of love, truth and liberty. To this spirit the community bears witness and with it, hopefully, the community is filled. For some, at least, this recalls the "tongues of fire" of Pentecost.

The flame also has a more tragic significance. It commemorates the martyrdom, not only of Jan Hus, but of so many who died bravely in the cause of religious liberty.

The basic unit of the Unitarian movement is the autonomous local congregation. It may be called a church, a fellowship, a chapel, or a meeting. There are about 180 of these in Britain. They vary in size, but membership is usually in the tens rather than the hundreds. Some have their own buildings, while others hire space for their activities or meet in private homes. Distribution across the country is very uneven. These congregations associate together for the purposes of mutual support and shared endeavour. Thus at both the regional (district association) and national levels they comprise an interdependent federation or denomination. The structure is democratic at every level.

The national organisation is called the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. This has departments and committees dealing with such things as ministry, religious education, youth, social responsibility, worship, information, development, interfaith matters, and finance. There is a department dealing with Welsh affairs: a high proportion of the twenty-two congregations in Wales use the Welsh language.

The General Assembly also owns and administers the Nightingale Centre, a conference, retreat, and holiday centre in the heart of the Peak District National Park at Great Hucklow in Derbyshire.

Unitarians who are unable to reach a church or fellowship are catered for by the National Unitarian Fellowship with postal/internet contact and some regional meetings.

Within the Unitarian movement there are a number of organisations catering for specific constituencies and interests. These include women's groups and young adult groups, societies interested in Unitarian history, church music, and psychical studies, and open fellowships concerned with peace issues and with meditation.

The General Assembly has a close association with the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland. This shares the same freedom from imposed creeds and dogmas but is overwhelmingly liberal Christian in theology. As a denomination, it does not identify itself as Unitarian, although it includes people who do.

The Universalist tradition dates back at least to the 18th century. It began by preaching universal salvation as opposed to the predestined consignment to heaven or hell propounded especially by orthodox Calvinism. Universalists held that Gods love would not permit anyone to be damned eternally, and that everyone could and would be saved eventually. This Universalism evolved to a position that saw universal truth reflected in all the great faith traditions.

In Britain the few Universalist congregations that existed in the 18th and 19th centuries soon became part of the growing Unitarian movement.

In the United States, the Universalist Church and the Unitarians grew closer and closer together until, in 1961, they merged to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Some of the newer movements around the world have taken the double Unitarian Universalist name from the outset.

Unitarians and Universalists, while having their own historical and theological traditions, now form one integrated faith community.

The Unitarian Information Department will be happy to deal with your enquiries or put you in touch with your nearest Unitarian congregation. They can be contacted at:

Unitarian Headquarters
Essex Hall
1-6 Essex Street
London WC2R 3HY

Tel: 020 7240 2384
Email: info@unitarian.org.uk