[ Unitarian Christian groups and publications
First Unitarian Meeting House, Madison, WI, designed by Unitarian Frank Lloyd Wright
[ Organizations of Unitarian Christians
There are a number of associations, congregations and publications that can be considered as actively involved in the preservation and development of the distinct tradition known as Unitarian Christianity - started by Francis David in 1565.
Many American Unitarian Christians identify primarily with the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship, a sub-group of the Unitarian Universalist Association, which is the result of the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, and is located in the United States. In addition many Unitarian Christian groups are affiliated with the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists.
Some organizations, such as the American Unitarian Conference, are independent of the UUA and the ICUU. Others, such as Bét Dávid Unitarian Association, have recently become associated with the ICUU. They tend to contain a majority membership who express specifically Unitarian Christian beliefs as opposed to the religious pluralism of the UUA - nevertheless they remain liberal, open-minded and inclusive communities.
The Unitarian Christian Association (UK) and Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (USA) maintain formal links with their national movements and the majority of their membership describe themselves as Christian. There are also numerous local British Unitarian and UUA affiliated congregations which have a Christian majority.
A final point to note is the Unitarian Church in Hungary and the Transylvanian Unitarian Church are affiliated with the ICUU and continue with the historical Unitarian Christian tradition established by Francis David. The Unitarian churches in Hungary and Transylvania are structured and organized along a church hierarchy that includes the election by the Synod of a national Bishop who serves as superintendent of the Church.
The majority of Unitarian Christian publications are sponsored by an organization and published specifically for their membership. They generally do not serve as a tool for missionary work or encouraging conversions.
[ Development in the 21st Century
In recent years there has been a relatively small, yet significant, growth in groups with a specifically Unitarian Christian outlook and ethos. The Congregazione Italiana Cristiana Unitariana (Italy) and Bét Dávid Unitarian Association (Norway) are two examples of this trend. There are also reports of the development of Unitarian Christian groups in African countries such as Burundi. Some of these groups are joining the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, either as Emerging Groups or as Associates, as they gain a solid organizational structure.
There is a noticeable presence of Unitarian Christians on the internet, such as the Restoration Fellowship, and online networks have been growing steadily for some time attracting members from across the world. Many Unitarian Christians who join these networks do not have a congregation in their locality and so rely on the internet as the main contact with their fellow believers.
[] Ecclesiology
When Unitarianism developed in the 1600s during the Protestant era of the evolution of the Christian church, the strongholds in Transylvania, Poland (which practically disappeared after 1640) and eventually Britain and the North Eastern parts of the United States were firmly in the congregational tradition in the English-speaking countries. In the Hungarian-speaking territories it adopted a governance system that combined the Synodal and Episcopal models.
For those churches under the congregational model, each church governed itself independently of a hierarchical authority. These small congregations did belong, however, to more formal associations of churches. The American Unitarian Association, formed in 1825, was one of these. Later, in 1961, the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged to form the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), which is the largest organization of Unitarians in the US. The UUA is no longer an explicitly Christian organization and does not focus exclusively on the core teachings of Jesus Christ or Christianity.
Several Unitarian organizations still promote Christianity as their central theme including the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (UUCF, an affiliate of the UUA), the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC) of the United Kingdom, and the Unitarian Christian Association (UCA, an affiliate of the GAUFCC).
In the US, the newest organization promoting a return to the theistic roots of Unitarianism is the American Unitarian Conference (AUC), formed in 2000. The AUC's stated goal is to formulate and promote classical Unitarian-based, unifying religious convictions, which balance the needs of members with a practical approach to inclusion and progressive free thought.
Interfaith dialogue and relations
The adoption of Unitarian belief almost always entails severance of identification with "Christianity" as it is formulated in the creeds of the Nicene and pre-Chalcedonian churches (Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and most Protestants). Unitarianism is outside of the fellowship of these traditions. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant creeds of various stripes insist on trinitarian belief as an essential of Christianity and basic to a group's continuity of identity with the historical Christian faith.
As a tradition founded by dissenters from mainstream Christian churches, and traditionally denounced as heretics, it is difficult to see the emergence of Unitarian groups in areas dominated by existing Christian denominations.
However, occasionally, especially in Protestant history, traditionally trinitarian groups grow friendly to, or incorporate, unitarianism. Friendliness toward unitarianism has sometimes gone hand-in-hand with anti-Catholicism. In some cases non-trinitarian or unitarian belief has been adopted by some, and tolerated in Christian churches as a "non-essential". This was the case in the English Presbyterian Church, and in the Congregational Church in New England late in the 18th century. The Restoration Movement also attempted to forge a compatible relation between Trinitarians and Unitarians, as did the Seventh Day Baptists and various Adventists. The Seventh Day Baptists hold Unitarian Doctrines in their International Conference but became Trinitarians in the US. The Adventists were Unitarians on worldwide basis until the death of Uriah Smith in 1931. From that date they were taken over slowly by Trinitarians. They became formally Trinitarians as late as 1978. The Unitarian tendency in these last-mentioned groups came from their original theology and a total rejection of the Catholic explanation and acceptance of Trinitarianism and the Trinitarian Christian tradition of interpretation.
In some cases, this openness to unitarianism within traditionally trinitarian churches has been inspired by a very broad ecumenical motive. Modern liberal Protestant denominations are often accused by trinitarians within their ranks, and critics outside, of being indifferent to the doctrine, and therefore self-isolated from their respective trinitarian pasts and heritage. In some cases, it is charged that these trinitarian denominations are no longer Christian, because of their toleration of unitarian belief among their teachers, and in their seminaries.
At a local level, many Unitarian Christian groups - and individual Unitarian Christians - have links with tolerant congregations affiliated with the United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Anglican Church and Unity Church. Indeed, some argue they feel more at home within these denominations than Unitarian-Universalism. A small proportion of Unitarian Christians also have links with Progressive Christianity.
Despite the close friendship and shared heritage that exists between adherents to Unitarian Universalism and Unitarian Christianity, there is an element within Unitarian Universalism that opposes specifically Unitarian Christian groups, believing them to be exclusive and intolerant of non-Christian thought. Likewise, some Unitarian Christians also believe that Unitarian Universalists are intolerant of Christian thought and tend to marginalize Christians.
The American Unitarian Conference is open to non-Christian Unitarians - being particularly popular with non-Christian theists and deists. In addition, the Bét Dávid Unitarian Association (Norway) has forged positive and mutual friendships with Jewish groups.
An important point to note is the shared belief that exists between Unitarian Christians and their Muslim, Jewish and Sikh counterparts, who all adhere to strict monotheism - this common ground may form the basis of future friendship.
The Unitarian Universalist Association do not currently have any formal links with the Biblical Unitarian movements in the United States - the two communities should be regarded as separate and distinct
( يا أيها الناس اتقوا ربكم الذي خلقكم من نفس واحدة )
ثم وصف تعالى ذكره نفسه بأنه المتوحد بخلق جميع الأنام من شخص واحد ، معرفا عباده كيف كان مبتدأ إنشائه ذلك من النفس الواحدة ، ومنبههم بذلك على أن جميعهم بنو رجل واحد وأم واحدة وأن بعضهم من بعض ، وأن حق بعضهم على بعض واجب وجوب حق الأخ على أخيه ، لاجتماعهم في النسب إلى أب واحد وأم واحدة وأن الذي يلزمهم من رعاية بعضهم حق بعض ، وإن بعد التلاقي في النسب إلى الأب الجامع بينهم ، مثل الذي يلزمهم من ذلك في النسب الأدنى وعاطفا بذلك بعضهم على بعض ، ليتناصفوا ولا يتظالموا ، وليبذل القوي من نفسه للضعيف حقه بالمعروف على ما ألزمه الله له (تفسير الطبرى)
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