United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ is a Protestant Christian denomination established in 1957. Also known as the UCC, the church came into being when the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches merged. The church’s earliest roots can be found in the English Puritans and the Pilgrims, who came to America in search of religious freedom.

The UCC has more than 700,000 members worshiping in more than 4,600 churches across the United States. The churches are loosely organized, with local churches being individually managed but linked through regional and national conferences and synods. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the church considers itself welcoming and progressive and tends to adopt liberal viewpoints concerning issues of race, gender, and human rights.

Background

The UCC’s Congregational origins can be found in the Protestant Reformation that began in England in 1517 and continued through 1648. After King Henry VIII established the Church of England in the aftermath of his dispute with the Roman Catholic Church, English citizens were expected to adopt the new religion. The new church replaced the pope’s authority with that of the king but kept nearly all the rituals and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.

Some people felt this level of ceremony was unnecessary and preferred a simpler form of worship. They became known as “Puritans” because of their desire for a purer, less ceremonial religion. However, they referred to themselves as Reformed after their desire to reform the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church. Some recognized that reform was not going to happen and sought to create a new Christian community on the North American continent. Two groups, the Puritans and the Pilgrims, came to America. Those who settled in New England adopted a Congregationalist viewpoint. Congregationalist Churches were run independently of one another but worked together.

Other churches were formed as small groups broke away from both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England during the Protestant Reformation. Several of these groups settled into the Reformed Church, which based its beliefs and practices on the teachings of John Calvin. Calvin was a French theologian who believed in predestination, or that God used his wisdom and grace to decide a person’s eternal fate.

Later, the Evangelical Church was formed out of the First Great Awakening, which took place in parts of Europe and the American colonies during the 1730s and 1740s. Evangelicals believe it is important for people to know God not only by worshiping together but also through prayer. They emphasize being “born again,” or the belief that a person begins a new life by recognizing that their sins have been forgiven by the life and death of Jesus Christ. They also hold a strong belief that it is a Christian’s responsibility to share Scripture and God’s message with others, a practice known as evangelizing.

In America, the Reformed Church was mainly made up of immigrants of Swiss and German ancestry, while Evangelical Churches became common in the nineteenth-century South and included many people of German heritage. In the 1930s, the Reformed and Evangelical Churches came together to form a single church. It retained the Calvinist belief in predestination and the Evangelical emphasis on spreading the message of the Gospel. In 1957, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Churches came together to form the United Church of Christ. Those responsible for the merger saw this as a step toward resolving the schisms, or splits, in Christianity that began during the Reformation.

Overview

The United Church of Christ had around 712,296 members across America in the mid-2020s. They worshiped in more than 4,603 churches. During the period 2012 through 2022, the UCC saw its membership decline by over 286,000. The UCC lost 500 congregations during the same period. Following through on the schism-resolving attempts that led to its founding, the UCC actively participates in ecumenical activities that bring various Christian denominations together for worship, service, and other purposes. For example, the UCC is in an active partnership with the Christian Church, also known as the Disciples of Christ, working together on educational and service projects through an alliance known as Global Ministries.

The churches of the UCC gather for regional and national meetings at conferences and a General Synod, or periodic meeting of representatives of all the churches. These churches are independently run by a combination of lay and ordained ministers. The larger conferences and the Synod help them establish general policies and address social issues and other matters that extend beyond individual churches.

In general, the UCC emphasizes unity, tolerance, and the idea that Christians should lead the way in bringing God’s plan for humanity to fruition. They are often at the forefront when it comes to matters involving inclusion and acceptance. The UCC claims to have been the first predominantly White church to ordain a Black American minister. The Congregational Church that became part of the UCC ordained their first female clergy, Amelia Frost, in 1894. Frost was the wife of Minister George B. Frost in Littleton, Massachusetts. When he became too sick to continue his duties, the Littleton Congregational Church called her to serve in his place.

In 1985, the UCC’s General Synod passed a resolution calling for full inclusion of gay and lesbian Christians, though each congregation retained the right to make their own decision regarding the matter. The UCC was also the first to ordain an openly gay minister and to approve of same-sex unions. These decisions have sometimes drawn criticism from other Christians and have been the subject of controversy.

Theologically, the UCC is a Christian denomination that believes in God as a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe that Jesus Christ lived, died, and was raised from the dead. They also believe that he was both fully God and fully human. As might be expected in a church that blends traditions of predestination and the belief that God reconciled with his people through Christ’s life and death, individual churches and members of the UCC hold varying beliefs on eternal life.

The UCC recognizes two sacraments, or practices, that are outward signs of God’s grace. They are baptism and communion. Baptism is the formal welcoming of a new believer into the Christian faith in a ceremony that usually involves immersing in or sprinkling the person with water. Communion is a ceremonial act that recalls the last meal Jesus Christ shared with his disciples prior to his death. In the UCC tradition, these sacraments are considered symbolic and do not convey the idea of God’s actual presence as they do in some other Christian denominations.

Bibliography

“About Us.” United Church of Christ, www.ucc.org/about. Accessed Jan. 2025.

“The Congregational Church Tradition.” Congregational Library and Archives, www.congregationallibrary.org/researchers/congregational-christian-tradition. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

“General CARDD FAQs.” United Church of Christ, www.ucc.org/what-we-do/justice-local-church-ministries/cardd/general-cardd-faqs. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

Kidd, Thomas. “When Did Evangelical Christianity Begin?” The Gospel Coalition, 20 Mar. 2018, www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/evangelical-history/evangelical-christianity-begin. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

Quintanilla, Milton. “United Church of Christ Lost over 286K Members, 550 Churches between '12-'22.” Crosswalk, 2 Feb. 2024, www.crosswalk.com/headlines/contributors/milton-quintanilla/united-church-of-christ-lost-286k-members-550-churches-2012-2022.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

“The Reformation.” History, 11 Apr. 2019, www.history.com/topics/reformation/reformation. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

“Stances of Faith on LGBTQ+ Issues: United Church of Christ.” Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-united-church-of-christ. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

“United Church of Christ/Congregationalism.” Patheos Religion Library, www.patheos.com/library/united-church-of-christcongregationalism. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.