I’m going to stick this here in case it calls for witnessing or something.
I’m a pretty well-thought out atheist-- not a casual agnostic or lazy atheist but I’ve considered it pretty carefully. A philosophically rigourous atheist, if you will. I do, however, respect belief and faith and all that (I just don’t have any-- it’s fine and the diversity of human experience is grand and blah blah blah).
The question-- do adherents or those who self-identify with UU believe. . . well, what do they believe? What don’t they believe? The main UU website’s FAQs and such don’t really say much-- or they state that some believe in a God and some don’t. I guess. . . is it a religion, or what? If so, in what way does it qualify? Are there any unifying principles or beliefs? It. . . it sounds like compassionate and ethical atheism. Does it function as a feel-good volunteerist benevolent social club? What the difference between being UU and. . . NOT being UU? What do you believe that’s different from what I believe, as a bleeding-heart left-of-liberal tree, animal, dirt, and human-hugging atheist? I just. . . a religion this inclusive doesn’t seem like any religion at all. (I have the same question about some 20th-c theological discussions of God-- “That definition of God sounds like something I could believe in, but no longer sounds like anything I’d bother calling a god.” Who am I thinking of. . . Hartshorne? Brahman-Atman? Anyway.)
Honestly interested. Anyone who self-identifies as “secular humanist”, please address the same questions if you would.
I don’t think it is so much a relgion but just a thought thing. IF it is a relgion it is a very loosely based on. They are strong believers in social justics and equality. UU believes that it is ok to believe whatever you want. They have wiccan unitarians, christian unitarians, atheist unitarians etc. They believe that there are many paths to God and you choose whichever is right for you. So, in a very simplistic nutshell, they believe everything.
Unitarian Universalism is a religious organization that tries to support whatever spiritual/religious path you choose to embark on. It’s no longer a Christian group (although there are some Unitarian Universalists who do consider themselves Christian) as many congregations may not place any more value on Christ or the Christian Bible than any other religious figure or book, and it sees all religions, and their corresponding sacred scriptures, as being equal in worth. Unitarian Universalist ministers will typically give you spiritual education regarding different religions to help you make your decision. There are, however, Unitarian Universalists who do not believe in God as God is traditionally conceived, and even doubt his or her existence, so you may feel at home there. In fact, a new splinter group, the American Unitarian Conference was apparently formed in response to growing numbers of atheists and secular humanists in the UUA.
Thank you for explaining that better than I did.
I attend a UU church, but because I have stronger feeling for the particular congregation and minister than UU as a whole.
If you want to get down to it, the use of terms “church,” “religion”, and “worship” may or may not be appropriate, depending on how you define them. Many folk define them as presupposing a belief in God/gods. UU does not require any such belief - tho many UUs do beilieve in various manifestations of the supernatural. There are often-recurring debates over such things as the use of “god-language.”
I do not believe in the supernatural, but instead of considering myself an atheist - defining myself by one thing I do not believe - I prefer to consider myself a Humanist. If interested, you might want to check out AHA to see how Humanists define themselves. (Note, there is a significant difference between Humanist and humanistic.) But, there are benefits to being a part of a cummunity which AHA does not provide.
There is a strong thread of Humanism in UU, and my particular congregation is intentionally Humanist. But of late I believe the UUA is becoming more and more “spiritual” - often amounting to little more than christianity-lite. And - IMO - there is a tendency for UU congregations to get sidetracked by what I consider newage crap which has little to do with the “free and responsible search for truth and meaning.”
You may need to check out more than one UU church to find the one that best suits you. But if there is any “church” where an atheist can fit in, UU is it.
The common thread running through UU beliefs is summed up in the seven principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association:
And that’s pretty much it. You’ll find UUs of pretty much every stripe, although atheist/agnostic and pagan seem to be the most common.
UUs - the journey is more important than the destination.
I always say you can walk into a UU church and say “I worship the rock in my pocket.” The answer you will get will be “oh, do you find that meaningful? The rock worshipers meet Tuesday night, unless its an engraved rock, in which case you might want to come to the idols group on Thursdays.” It isn’t quite that bad, that’s definately parody, but UUs laugh.
What UU provides is a community - which is really what any other congregation applies. UU worship is more about finding your place in the world than worshiping an external entity. The world is the external entity - and sometimes that’s “God as universe” and sometimes that is social action and sometimes that is religious tradition drawn from Christianity or New Age thought or Buddhism. Its very much a “take what benefits you and makes you a better human being.”
Raised in the UU Church. Definitely “or what.”
What do you get when you cross a Unitarian with a Jehovah’s Witness?
Something that knocks on your door for no particular reason! 
You know the “generic aisle” in the grocery store?
UU is “religion” but not name-brand identified. Not even per the use or nonuse of “God” or other theistic language, and certainly not as per the designation of any specific holy book or set of officially designated beliefs.
Were you a computer geek back in the days before commercial computer applications?
UU is a box with Basic. (Or perhaps Pascal:)). Raw process. Generate and compile your own content. Everything from the superficial GUI to the underlying nuts and bolts of what it means and implies is potentially unique to your own system.
To be sure, UU is also kind of like fat-free butter substitute in the diet aisles. You went to church as a kid but outgrew all vestiges of religious belief? Still kind of miss singing hymns, hanging out drinking coffee or bad white wine while discussing social issues? Feel better for putting a few bucks (and perhaps some time & effort) into organized humanitarian efforts in the community? UU: most of the taste of religion (at least religion-lite variants) but without that troublesome sense of self as hypocrite, put on your best Sunday clothes to sit in pews and say “God who?”
A Jewish synagogue, a Catholic church, and a Unitarian church stand side-by-side. One morning the rabbi, the priest and the minister are out on the sidewalk chatting when somebody runs out of the synagogue shouting, “The temple is on fire!” The rabbi immediately runs inside, grabs the Torah scrolls from the ark, and runs out shouting, “I’ve saved the temple!” Then the fire spreads to the Catholic church. The priest runs inside, runs up the altar, grabs the chalice and the Bible, and runs out shouting, “I’ve saved the church!” Then the fire spreads to the Unitarian church, and the minister runs inside and grabs the coffee machine.
Is anyone aware of UU congregations in England? It might be my lack of Google-fu, but I can’t seem to find much. I’d be interested in one of these groups.
You might want to look into a local Ethical Society. Check the American Ethical Union to find one. They are specifically non-theist. While UUs fully accept atheists, the congregations I’ve visited are more theist than my tastes like. Ethical Societies are more humanistic.
I’ve never heard of UUism outside of the US, and given our anti-proselytization tendenices, I’d be surprised if we start spreading soon.
Actually, a UU tried to convert me once. I was like, “to what?!” 
Thit kinda sums up what I think is a major flaw with UU - at least as I have encountered it in practice.
If the search is all important, then what happens when you reach a destination? it can be very frustrating to invest a considerable amount of time, effort, and thought into a philosophical search, yet have your views given no more weight than someone with a rock in their pocket. And the journey of the congregation as a whole has a hard time getting anywhere, because it has to keep going back to step one to accomodate the newcomers.
If UU stands for “everything” then how is it different from standing for nothing? What exactly is the basis of community if there are no shared themes?
Another way to put it is I believe UU practice should be directed by the 7 principles. And IME, that is not always the case. Instead, too many UUs glory in an “anything goes” approach.
If you are fortunate enough to live near an active ethical society, you should definitely check them out.
In my mind, two things…
One is that you never really reach the destination. There is always more to understand, more to improve upon.
The second is that you are encouraged to share (at least in my congregation) your path and your destination…the important thing to UUs though is that you understand when sharing your path and destination that it isn’t the only one. If the rock is fulfilling and doesn’t involve a protracted journey, that doesn’t make it less valid than one that did. (Though the philosophical and judgement side in me gives very little weight to the rock worshippers - I respect the people who can show their work).
At least, that is how I see it practices by UUs I admire.
I don’t think there are many non-USofA UU congregations; the formation of Unitarian Universalism was a unique conjunction of the Unitarian and Universalist faiths in the States in the 1960s (ish). That said, there are Unitarian (and, I believe, Universalist) Christian denominations worldwide, some of whom have associations with the UUA.
There is also the Church of the Larger Fellowship, Unitarian Universalist (www.clfuu.org), of which I am a part.
My brother- and sister-in-law (wife’s sis and her hubby) are UUs. Been to a couple services, most interestingly an Easter Service yesterday they invited us to becuse their daughter/my niece was part of the festivities. Cute little Easter outfit, lots of cooing from my wife and me on photographer duty, that sort of experience.
The whole thing strikes me as a noble effort to strip anything remotely offensive to anyone’s sensibilities from Xianity, whilst acknowledging there’s some other stuff out there which you’re welcome to bring to the table and pretty much shoot the breeze about. I guess some UU Churches lean more Christian than others, and this seems to be one that’s mostly interested in taking all the stuff those gathered get good vibes from in the Bible and smiling knowlingly (or bemusedly, or just smiling for no reason) at “ressurection”, “virgin birth” and other optionals. Which is not to say they’re optional because they’re bad. Or good. Or anything definite, really. After all, ain’t it just nice to be here and sing?
As a non-theist, this really pisses me off about some UUs. Because, if someone just wants an undemanding christian-oriented church, they’ve got all kinds of options from the mainline religions to UCC. But if you reject the divinity of Christ, UU is the only game in town.
Sure, look to the bible - and any number of other sources for “rules to live by.” But biblical myths are no more or less valid than any others.
Waiting for God? …Oh.