UU History - A Distinguished Past

Rooted in Judaism and Christianity, Unitarian Universalism has been defined as the joining of two theological heresies: The belief in the unity of God (Unitarianism) and the belief in universal salvation (Universalism).

Unitarianism can trace its roots back to 525 A.D. and the Council of Nicea.  Modern Unitarianism came into being during the Reformation.  Unitarianism in America predates the revolution.  We've even had 4 or 5 Unitarian presidents: John and John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore and William Howard Taft (Thomas Jefferson held Unitarianism in high regard, and said he'd have liked to be a member of a Unitarian church, but there were none in Virginia).

Universalism's beginnings go back to the second century A.D., when Origen began teaching the belief of universal salvation, opposing the notion that only a select few would be saved.

In 1961, the two denominations merged to form the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).  The more than 1000 churches in North America that make up the UUA are free churches answering to their local congregations.  

More history can be found at the Unitarian Universalist Association, and even more at the American Unitarian Conference.   More on the Universalist branch of our history can also be found at the UUA here.

The Unitarian Universalist church of the North Hills is affiliated with the UUA through the Ohio-Meadville District, which is made up of some 40 societies in Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.  The congregation elects the Board of Trustees and directs Board Policy.