Unitarianism and Universalism are separate religious movements that came together when the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations was formed in 1961.

Although the Unitarian Universalists represent the largest part of the two movements, not every Unitarian or Universalist participated in the merger, and others later broke away.

The basic historic principle of Unitarianism is that God is only one person and that Jesus was a perfect man but not God. Unitarians deny the deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity.

Unitarians claim that Unitarianism was the common Christian concept in the early years of the Church and that the doctrine of the Trinity was a later addition. However, Unitarianism, as we know it, was developed by radical anti-trinitarian reformers during the Protestant Reformation. Some of the early Anabaptist groups held ideas similar to Unitarianism.

Among early Unitarians were Michael Servetus, Isaac Newton, John Locke, and John Milton.

The first known Unitarian denomination was the Polish Brethren, also known as the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, which came under attack from both Catholics and Protestants. Although they were driven from Poland and were in existence for less than a century, their influence extended to England and northern Europe. A Unitarian denomination was established in England during the late 1700s.

Unitarianism came to North America in the form of the "Free Thinkers," who were largely New England Congregationalists influenced by English Unitarians during the period known as the "Enlightenment." Early New England Unitarians founded Harvard Divinity School in 1816.

In 1825, the American Unitarian Association was organized, its membership consisting mostly of former Congregational or Baptist congregations that had adopted Unitarian beliefs. US presidents John Quincy Adams and Howard Taft were Unitarians.

There are several types of Universalism. Generally, the term refers to a belief that everyone will be saved regardless of their religious beliefs or non-beliefs. Origen of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, and the radical Pietist, Jacob Boehme, were Universalists.

Influenced by James Relly, who opposed the Calvinist doctrine of election, John Murray, a Wesleyan evangelist, preached Universalism along the Atlantic Coast of the American colonies. His church, the Independent Christian Church of Gloucester, became the first Universalist church in the United States in 1779.

The Universalist General Convention was organized in 1866, and became the Universalist Church of America in 1942.

Both the Unitarians and the Universalists were active in prison reform movements, and in programs for working women, during the 1800s. They both opposed slavery, and have been active in other civil rights issues and campaigns.

Both groups rejected orthodox Christianity, questioned the concept of original sin, the wrath of God, and hell, believing in the essential goodness of humanity and the importance of critical thinking, although they maintained a belief in Christ as the supreme revelation of God in humanity.

The bulk of the memberships of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association merged in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.

The UUA has been heavily involved in social justice issues, often at the expense of all other concerns.

Over the years, as the American organization became less Christian, some Unitarian Universalists began to question the pluralism of the new denomination. Some, particularly those with a Unitarian background, left to join with other existing denominations, while others formed new groups in order to return to the historic Christian roots of Unitarianism.

Outside of the United States and Canada, several Unitarian and Universalist groups have never participated in a merger, and have continued as separate Christian movements. Within the United States, some Unitarian or Universalist groups did not participate in the 1961 merger, and have continued as separate movements, although most have since affiliated with other denominations.

The focus of this category or its subcategories is on Christian Unitarianism, Universalism, and the combined groups. Websites representing either of these denominations, associations, programs, organizations, publishing companies, or affiliated corporations are appropriate for this category, as are informational sites that have a focus on these topics, whether supportive, oppositional or purely informational. Sites representing local congregations should be submitted to the Local & Global category corresponding to the geographical location of the church.

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