United Church of Christ
| United Church of Christ | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Mainline Protestant |
| Orientation | United church (Congregationalist, Restorationism, Lutheran & Continental Reformed) |
| Theology | Liberal Reformed |
| Polity | Mix of Congregational and Presbyterian |
| General Minister and President | Karen Georgia Thompson |
| Full communion |
|
| Associations | Christian Churches Together Churches Uniting In Christ National Council of Churches World Communion of Reformed Churches World Council of Churches |
| Region | United States |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Origin | June 25, 1957[1] |
| Merger of | Evangelical and Reformed Church Congregational Christian Churches Afro-Christian Convention |
| Separations | Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches |
| Congregations | 4,603 (2022) |
| Members | 712,296 (2022) |
| Official website | www |
| Logo | |
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran traditions, and with approximately 4,600 churches and 712,000 members.[2][3] The UCC is a historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under the influence of New England Puritanism.[4][5] Moreover, it also subsumed the third largest Calvinist group in the country, the German Reformed.[5] Notably, its modern members have theological and socioeconomic stances which are often very different from those of its predecessors.
The Evangelical and Reformed Church, General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches, and the Afro-Christian Convention,[6] united on June 25, 1957, to form the UCC.[1] The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches were themselves the result of earlier unions and had their roots in Congregational, Lutheran, Evangelical, and Reformed denominations. At the end of 2014, the UCC's 5,116 congregations claimed 979,239 members, primarily in the U.S.[7] In 2025, Pew Research estimated that 0.4 percent of the U.S. population, or 1 million adult adherents, self-identified with the United Church of Christ.[8]
The UCC maintains full communion with other Protestant denominations, and many of its congregations practice open communion.[9] The denomination emphasizes participation in worldwide interfaith and ecumenical efforts.[10][11] The national leadership and General Synod of the UCC have historically favored culturally liberal views on social issues, such as civil rights, LGBT rights, women's rights, and abortion. UCC congregations are independent in matters of doctrine and ministry and may not necessarily support the national body's theological or moral stances. It self-describes as "an extremely pluralistic and diverse denomination".[12]
- ^ a b "The Morning Call 26 Jun 1957, page 1". Newspapers.com. pp. 1, 15. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
- ^ "A statistical profile" (PDF). United Church of Christ Center for Analytics, Research and Data (CARD). 2023.
- ^ "SUMMARY STATISTICS 1955 - 2022" (PDF). United Church of Christ. p. 2. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Daniel L. (1990). Theology and Identity - Traditions, Movements, and Polity in the United Church of Christ. Cleveland, Ohio: United Church Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-8298-0807-8.
- ^ a b Queen, Edward L.; Prothero, Stephen R.; Shattuck, Gardiner H. (January 1, 2009). Encyclopedia of American Religious History. Infobase Publishing. p. 818. ISBN 978-0-81606-660-5. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
Next in size and historical importance is the United Church of Christ, which is the historic continuation of the Congregational churches founded under the influence of New England Puritanism. The United Church of Christ also subsumed the third major Calvinist group, the German Reformed, which (then known as the Evangelical and Reformed Church) merged with the Congregationalists in 1957.
- ^ Holznagel, Hans (October 10, 2022). "Afro-Christian tradition's status as distinct UCC 'stream' gets Historical Council support". United Church of Christ. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
- ^ United Church of Christ Statistical Profile. Cleveland, Ohio: Center for Analytics, Research and Data (CARD). p. 3.
- ^ Fahmy, Gregory A. Smith, Alan Cooperman, Becka A. Alper, Besheer Mohamed, Chip Rotolo, Patricia Tevington, Justin Nortey, Asta Kallo, Jeff Diamant and Dalia (February 26, 2025). "Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off". Pew Research Center. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Ecumenical partnerships and relationships of full communion". United Church of Christ. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ "Interfaith relations". United Church of Christ. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ "Ecumenical and Interfaith Partners". United Church of Christ. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ Zikmund, Barbara B. (1987). Hidden Histories in the United Church of Christ – Volume I. New York City: United Church Press. ISBN 0-8298-0753-5.