Universalist Unitarianism

[MysteriousNight]

OK, What exactly is the difference in this denomination from the rest of mainstream Christianity? Has anyone ever been to one of these churches, and if you have can you tell me about them? I've seen those United Church of Christ commercials on TV, the ones that say "God doesn't reject people" which, is in direct contrast to most mainstream Christian denominations. I was raised a baptist and my girlfriend was raised a catholic, both of these aspects of Christianity are very narrow and condeming, especially towards homosexuality. I'm quite curious about this branch of Christianity, if it is indeed considered such, and if anyone coming across this post could offer some insight I would be grateful.

[thespeez]

Do you mean Unitarian-Universalist? Both Unitarianism and Universalism started out as movements which opposed traditional orthodoxies. Unitarianism rejected the concept of the trinity, and Universalism embraced the concept that all were worthy of salvation. It is important to remember, though, that embracing such beliefs could spell death if you made your views known. One prime example of this was the burning to death of Michael Servetus in 1599 by order of John Calvin for writing "On the Errors of the Trinity". Unitarianism gained a foothold in Transylvania back in (I believe) the 1500s. Here in America, The American Unitarian Association was organized in 1825, though some of our founding fathers including Adams, Jefferson, Paine and Franklin embraced unitarian beliefs. The Universalist Church in America was organized in 1770. Both of these denominations embraced theological pluralism. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, both faiths bacame inundated-and infiltrated-with beliefs and values which had questionable validity. The denominations decided on a merger which took place in 1961.

As I see it, Unitarian-Universalism is a free-form liberal religion which has been led astray. You can find almost any faith persuasion in many congregations, including humanism, paganism, monotheism, agnosticism, not to mention atheism. They try to be accepting of others, particularly if you lead an 'alternative lifestyle'. Outside of a handful of circles, a UU church seems to be a place to get your ego stroked.

Here's the UU website:
http://www.uua.org/

As well as other websites which feature classical approaches to Unitarianism and Universalism:
http://www.americanunitarian.org/
http://www.christian-universalism.com/
http://www.tentmaker.org/
http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/uc/wuf.html (http://www.auburn.edu/%7Eallenkc/uc/wuf.html)