Nontrinitarianism

==Beliefs==
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2014}}
[[Christian apologetics|Christian apologists]] and other [[Church Fathers]] of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, having adopted and formulated the [[Logos (Christianity)|Logos]] [[Christology]], considered the [[Son of God]] as the instrument used by the supreme God, the Father, to bring the creation into existence. [[Justin Martyr]], [[Theophilus of Antioch]], [[Hippolytus of Rome]] and [[Tertullian]] in particular state that the internal Logos of [[God in Christianity|God]] (Gr. ''Logos endiathetos'', Lat. ''ratio'')—his impersonal divine reason—was begotten as Logos uttered (Gr. ''Logos prophorikos'', Lat. ''sermo, verbum''), the Word personified, becoming an actual person to be used for the purpose of creation.<ref>Justo L. González, ''The Story of Christianity: The [[Early Church]] to the Present Day,'' Prince Press, 1984, Vol. 1, pp. 159–161
• Jaroslav Pelikan, ''The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine,'' The University of Chicago Press, 1971, Vol. 1, pp. 181–199</ref>

The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (11th edition) states: "to some Christians the doctrine of the Trinity appeared inconsistent with the unity of God. ... they therefore denied it, and accepted Jesus Christ, not as incarnate God, but as God's highest creature by whom all else was created. ... [this] view in the early Church long contended with the orthodox doctrine."<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Christianity |volume=6 |page=285}}</ref> Although the Trinitarian view became the orthodox doctrine in mainstream Christianity, variations of the nontrinitarian view are still held by a relatively small number of Christian groups and denominations.

Various views exist regarding the relationships between the Father, Son, and [[Holy Spirit (Christianity)|Holy Spirit]].
* Those who believe that [[Jesus]] is not Almighty God, nor absolutely equal to God, and not the co-eternal or co-equal with Father in everything, but was either God's subordinate Son and Servant, the highest Angel and Son of God that eventually became a perfect Man, God's true firstborn before ages, a perfect messenger sent from God, the greatest prophet of Israel, and the Jewish Messiah, or the perfect created human:
** [[Adoptionism]] (2nd century AD) holds that Jesus became divine at his [[baptism]] (sometimes associated with the [[Gospel of Mark]]) or at his [[resurrection]] (sometimes associated with [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]] and [[Shepherd of Hermas]]);
** [[Arianism]] – [[Arius]] (AD c.{{nbsp}}250 or 256–336) believed that the pre-existent [[Son of God]] was directly created by the Father, before all ages, and that he was subordinate to [[God the Father]]. Arius' position was that the Son was brought forth as the very first of God's creations, and that the Father later created all things through the Son. Arius taught that in the creation of the universe, the Father was the ultimate creator, supplying all the materials and directing the design, while the Son worked the materials, making all things at the bidding and in the service of God, by which "through [Christ] all things came into existence". Arianism became the dominant view in some regions in the time of the [[Roman Empire]], notably the [[Visigoth]]s until 589.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac61|title=History of Arianism |access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> The [[Third Council of Sirmium]] in 357 was the high point of Arianism. The Seventh Arian Confession (Second Sirmium Confession) held that both ''homoousios'' (of one substance) and ''homoiousios'' (of similar substance) were unbiblical and that the Father is greater than the Son in all things, and that the Father alone is infinite and eternal, and that the Logos is God's true firstborn and subservient Son who was made perfect flesh for our sakes and for the glory of the Father (this confession was later known as the Blasphemy of Sirmium): "But since many persons are disturbed by questions concerning what is called in Latin ''substantia'', but in Greek ''ousia'', that is, to make it understood more exactly, as to 'coessential,' or what is called, 'like-in-essence,' there ought to be no mention of any of these at all, nor exposition of them in the Church, for this reason and for this consideration, that in divine Scripture nothing is written about them, and that they are above men's knowledge and above men's understanding";<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fourthcentury.com/index.php/second-creed-of-sirmium-or-the-blasphemy-of-sirmium/|title=Second Creed of Sirmium or "The Blasphemy of Sirmium"|website=www.fourthcentury.com|access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref>
** [[Psilanthropism]] – [[Ebionite]]s (1st to 4th centuries AD) observed [[Jewish law]], denied the literal [[Virgin birth of Jesus|virgin birth]] and regarded Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and the greatest prophet of God only;<ref>Stephen Goranson, "Ebionites," ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 261.</ref>
** [[Socinianism]] – [[Photinus]] taught that Jesus was the sinless Messiah and redeemer, and the only perfect human son of God, but that he had no pre-human existence. They interpret verses such as [[John 1:1]] to refer to God's "plan" existing in God's mind before Christ's birth, and that it was God's plan that "became flesh", as the perfect man Jesus;
** [[Unitarianism]] views Jesus as the son of God, subordinate and distinct from his Father;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://americanunitarian.org/explanation.htm|title=American Unitarian Conference|access-date=2015-06-30|archive-date=2019-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521191654/http://www.americanunitarian.org/explanation.htm}}</ref>
** Many [[Gnostic]] traditions held that the Christ is a heavenly [[Aeon (Gnosticism)|Aeon]] but not one with the Father.
* Those who believe that the Father, the resurrected Son and the Holy Spirit are different aspects of one God, as perceived by the believer, rather than three distinct persons:
** [[Modalism]] – [[Sabellius]] (fl. c.{{nbsp}}215) stated that [[God]] took numerous forms in both the [[Hebrew Scriptures|Hebrew]] and the [[Christian Greek Scriptures]], and that God has manifested himself in three primary ''modes'' regarding the [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation of mankind]]. He contended that "Father, Son, and Spirit" were different roles played by the same divine person in various circumstances in history;<ref name="Bernard Oneness and Trinity">David K. Bernard, ''Oneness and Trinity A.D. 100–300{{snds}}The Doctrine of God and Ancient Christian Writings''{{snds}}Word Aflame Press, Hazelwood Montana, 1991, p. 156.</ref> thus God is [[God the Father|Father]] in creation (God created a [[God the Son|Son]] through the virgin birth), Son in [[Redemption (religious)|redemption]] (God manifested himself as Jesus for the purpose of his death upon the cross), and Holy Spirit in regeneration (God's Spirit within the Son and within the souls of [[Christianity|Christian]] believers). In this view, God is not three distinct persons, but rather one person manifesting himself in multiple ways.<ref name="Bernard Oneness and Trinity"/> Trinitarians condemn this view as a heresy. The chief critic of [[Sabellianism]] was [[Tertullian]], who labeled the movement "[[Patripassianism]]", from the Latin words ''pater'' for "father", and ''passus'' from the verb "to suffer", because it implied that the Father suffered on the cross. It was coined by Tertullian in his work ''Adversus Praxeas'', Chapter{{nbsp}}I: "By this Praxeas did a twofold service for the devil at Rome: he drove away prophecy, and he brought in heresy; he put to flight the [[Paraclete]], and he crucified the Father."  The term [[homoousion]] (''{{lang|el|ὁμοούσιον}}'', literally ''same being'') later adopted by the Trinitarian Nicene Council for its anti-Arian creed had previously been used by Sabellians.<ref>{{Citation | title = Select Treatises | author = St. Athanasius | contribution = In Controversy With the Arians | others = Newman, John Henry Cardinal trans | publisher = Longmans, Green, & Co | year = 1911 | page = 124, footn}}.</ref>
* Those who believe that Jesus Christ is Almighty God, but that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are actually three distinct almighty "Gods" with distinct natures, acting as one divine group, united in purpose:
** [[Tri-theism]] – [[John Philoponus]], an [[Aristotelianism|Aristotelian]] and [[monophysite]] in Alexandria, in the middle of the 6th century, saw in the Trinity three separate natures, substances, and deities, according to the number of divine persons.<ref>[https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philoponus John Philoponus] – Tritheism – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 10 July 2019.</ref> He sought to justify this view by the [[Aristotelian categories]] of ''genus'', ''species'' and ''individuum''. In the Middle Ages, [[Roscellin of Compiegne]], the founder of [[Nominalism]], argued for three distinct almighty Gods, with three distinct natures, who were one in mind and purpose, existing together eternally, interacting together from times past, in perfect cooperation, acting together as one divine group or godhead over the universe, in creation and redemption. And that the Logos took on a subservient role, but was equal in power and eternity with the One called Father. Roscellin said, though, like Philoponus, that unless the three persons are ''tres res'' (three things with distinct natures), the whole Trinity must have been [[incarnate]]. And therefore, since only the Logos was made flesh, the other two persons must have had distinct "natures", separate from the Logos, and so had to be separate and distinct Gods, though all three were one in divine work and plan and operation. In this view, they would be considered "three Gods in one Godhead". This notion was condemned by [[St. Anselm]].<ref>Chapman, John (1912). [http://catholicencyclopedia.newadvent.com/cathen/15061b.htm "Tritheists"] Archived 2012-06-15 at the [[Wayback Machine]]. The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company (public domain). Retrieved October 16, 2019.</ref>
* Those who believe that the Holy Spirit is not a person:
** [[Binitarianism]] – Adherents include those people through history who believed that God is only two co-equal and co-eternal persons, the Father and the Word, not three. They taught that the Holy Spirit is not a distinct person, but is the power or divine influence of the Father and Son, emanating out to the universe, in creation, and to believers;
** [[Dualistic cosmology#In Christianity|Dualism]];
** [[Marcionism]] – [[Marcion of Sinope|Marcion]] (AD c.{{nbsp}}110{{ndash}}160) believed there were two deities, one of [[Creator deity|creation]] and judgment (in the [[Hebrew Bible]]) and one of redemption and mercy (in the [[New Testament]]).<!--
* Other concepts:
** [[Docetism]] – from the Greek: δοκέω (dokeo), meaning "to seem". This view holds that Jesus only ''seemed'' to be human and only ''appeared'' to die. [This doesn't seem to have any direct bearing on nontrinitarianism.]-->

===Modern Christian groups===
* [[Christadelphians]] hold the unitarian belief that although Jesus is the Son of God, this is only a relational title toward the Father who alone is truly God. Christ's personhood, therefore, is human not divine,<ref>{{cite book | last = Flint | first = James |author2=Deb Flint |title = One God or a Trinity? | publisher = Printland Publishers | location = Hyderabad | url = http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/p_onegod.htm | isbn = 978-81-87409-61-8}}</ref> (believing this to be necessary in order to save humans from their sins<ref>{{cite book | last = Pearce | first = Fred | title = Jesus: God the Son or Son of God? Does the Bible Teach the Trinity? | publisher = The Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Ltd (UK) |location=Birmingham|page=8 |url=http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/jesus.htm#8 }}</ref>). The "Holy Spirit" terminology in the Bible is interpreted as referring to God's impersonal power,<ref>{{cite book | last = Tennant | first = Harry | title = The Holy Spirit: Bible Understanding of God's Power | publisher = The Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Ltd (UK) | location = Birmingham | url = http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/holysprt.htm#1 }}</ref> or God's character/mind<ref name="TrinityTrueOrFalse"/> (depending on the context).
* [[Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)]].<ref>Nelson's guide to denominations J. Gordon Melton – 2007 "Later in the century, various leaders also began to express doubts about the Trinity, and a spectrum of opinion emerged. ... Still others, such as the Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith) specifically denied the Trinity ..."</ref>
* The [[Cooneyites]] is a Christian sect that split from the [[Two by Twos]] in 1928 following [[Edward Cooney]]'s excommunication from the main group; they deny the Living Witness Doctrine.{{clarify|date=May 2017}}
* {{Lang|tl|[[Iglesia ni Cristo]]|italic=no}} ([[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] for ''Church of Christ'') views Jesus as human but endowed by God with attributes not found in ordinary humans, though lacking attributes found in God. They contend that it is God's will to worship Jesus.<ref name="incfund">Manalo, Eraño G., ''Fundamental Beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ)'' (Iglesia ni Cristo; Manila 1989)</ref> INC rejects the Trinity as heresy, adopting a version of unitarianism.
* [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] (and other [[Bible Student movement]] groups such as the Associated Bible Students<ref>''Encyclopedia of Protestantism'', p. 474, J. Gordon Melton, 2005: "... for his many departures from traditional Christian and Protestant affirmations including the Trinity and the deity of Christ. ... 1 (1886; reprint, Rutherford, NJ: Dawn Bible Students Association, nd)"</ref><ref name="mostholyfaith">''Watch Tower'', October 1881, [http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/Search_Result.asp#R290:13 ''Watch Tower Reprints'' p. 290 As Retrieved 2009-09-23] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002090150/http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/Search_Result.asp#R290:13 |date=2011-10-02 }}, p. 4, ""He gave his only begotten Son." This phraseology brings us into conflict with an old Babylonian theory, viz.: Trinitarianism. If that doctrine is true, how could there be any Son to give? A begotten Son, too? ''Impossible.'' If these three are one, did God send himself? And how could Jesus say: "My Father is greater than I." John 14:28. [emphasis retained from original]"</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/Z1882JUL.asp|title=Z1882 July|access-date=2012-03-05|archive-date=2009-01-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122101649/http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/Z1882JUL.asp}}</ref>) teach that [[God the Father]] is uniquely Almighty God. They consider Jesus to be "the First-begotten Son", God's only direct creation, and the very first creation by God. They give relative "worship" or "obeisance" (in the sense of ''homage'', as to a king) to Christ,<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=The Watchtower|date=January 15, 1992|page=23}}</ref> pray through him as God's only [[Jesus as priest#Priest|high priest]], consider him to be their Messiah, and a Mediator for imperfect Humans.  They believe that only the Father is without beginning, that the Father is greater than the Son in all things, and that only the Father is worthy of "sacred service" (''[[latria]]''). They believe that the Son had a beginning, and was brought forth at a certain point, as "the firstborn of all creation" and "the only-begotten", as the pre-existent [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] and the "[[Angel of the LORD]]" of Exodus, that he left heaven to be born as a perfect human, as the Jewish Messiah and Redeemer, and that after his ascension to heaven he resumed his pre-human identity, but exalted to [[Right hand of God|God's right hand]] until the last days.<ref>{{cite book|title=Insight on the Scriptures|volume=2|pages=393–394|publisher=Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania|year=1988}}</ref><ref>[https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102014738 Chapter 138 – Christ at God's Right Hand], JW.org. Retrieved October 18, 2019.</ref> They do not believe that the Holy Spirit is an actual person, but consider it to be God's divine active force.<ref>{{cite book|title=Should You Believe in the Trinity?|page=20|publisher=Watch Tower Society}}</ref> 
* [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct beings that are not united in substance, a view sometimes called [[Social trinity|social trinitarianism]]. They believe the three individual deities are "one" in will or purpose, as Jesus was "one" with his disciples, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit constitute a single [[God in Mormonism|godhead]] united in purpose.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng |title= The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent|last1= Holland |first1=Jeffrey R. |access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref> Latter-day Saints believe that Christ is the Firstborn of the Father,<ref name="eomchristfirstborn">{{cite book |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3818 |contribution= Jesus Christ: Firstborn in the Spirit |last= Giles |first= Jerry C. |page= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo01ludl/page/728 728] |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> that he is subordinate to God the Father (Matthew 26:39),<ref name="eomchristoverview">{{cite book |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3818 |contribution= Jesus Christ: Overview |last= Millet |first= Robert L. |author-link= Robert L. Millet |pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo01ludl/page/724 724–726] |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> and that Christ created the universe.<ref name="eomchristoverview"/><ref name="carmarianism">{{cite web |url= http://carm.org/arianism |title=Arianism |publisher=Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry |access-date=29 November 2013|date=2008-12-13 }}</ref> Latter-day Saints do not subscribe to the ideas that Christ was unlike the Father in substance<ref name="eomfatheroverview">{{cite book |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3732 |contribution= God the Father: Overview |last= Robinson |first= Stephen E. |author-link= Stephen E. Robinson |pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo01ludl/page/548 548–550] |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> and that the Father could not appear on earth,<ref name="eomfirstvision">{{cite book |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3702 |contribution= First Vision |last= Backman |first= Milton V. |author-link= Milton V. Backman |pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo01ludl/page/515 515–516] |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> or that Christ was adopted by the Father,<ref name="eomchristfirstborn" /> as presented in Arianism.<ref name="carmarianism" /><ref name="ariancatholic">{{cite web |url=http://www.arian-catholic.org/arian/arianism.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060409074813/http://www.arian-catholic.org/arian/arianism.html |archive-date=9 April 2006 |title=What is Arianism? |publisher=The Arian Catholic Church |access-date=29 November 2013 }}</ref> Latter-day Saints assert that both God and the resurrected Christ have perfected glorified, physical bodies,<ref name="lds_gospel_principles">{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-1-our-father-in-heaven?lang=eng |title=Gospel Principles – Chapter 1: Our Father in Heaven |quote=The Nature of God |publisher= The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=4 June 2017}}</ref> but do not otherwise classify deity in terms of substance. While Latter-day Saints regard God the Father as the supreme being and literal father of the spirits of all humankind, they also teach that Christ and the Holy Spirit are equally divine and that they share in the Father's "comprehension of all things".<ref>{{citation |title= Doctrine and Covenants Instructor's Guide: Religion 324–325 |chapter= 'The Glory of God Is Intelligence' Lesson 37: Section 93 |year= 1981 |chapter-url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-instructors-guide-religion-324-325/the-glory-of-god-is-intelligence-lesson-37-section-93?lang=eng |pages=73–74 |publisher=[[Institute of Religion|Institutes of Religion]], [[Church Educational System]] |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/32494_eng.pdf }}</ref>
* The [[Members Church of God International]] believes in the divinity of Christ but rejects the doctrine of Trinity. 
* [[Oneness Pentecostalism]] is a subset of [[Pentecostalism]] that believes God is only one person, and that he manifests himself in different ways, faces, or "modes": "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) are different designations for the one God. God is the Father. God is the Holy Spirit. The Son is God manifest in flesh. The term Son always refers to the [[Incarnation]], and never to deity apart from humanity."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm|title=The Oneness of God|archive-date=16 February 2008|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostals believe that Jesus was "Son" only when he became flesh on earth, but was the Father prior to being made human. They refer to the Father as the "Spirit" and the Son as the "Flesh". Oneness Pentecostals reject the Trinity doctrine, viewing it as pagan and unscriptural, and hold to the [[Jesus' Name doctrine]] with respect to baptisms. Oneness Pentecostals are often referred to as [[Sabellianism|"Modalists"]] or [[Sabellianism|"Sabellians"]] or "Jesus Only".<ref name=fp123-4>{{cite book |last1=Patterson |first1=Eric |last2=Rybarczyk |first2=Edmund |title=The Future of Pentecostalism in the United States |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2007 |location=New York |pages=123–124 |isbn=978-0-7391-2102-3 }}</ref>
* Denominations within the [[Seventh-day Sabbatarianism|Sabbatarian]] tradition ([[Armstrongism]]) believe that Christ the Son and God the Father are co-eternal, but do not teach that the Holy Spirit is a being or person. Armstrong theology holds that God is a "Family" that expands eventually, that "God reproduces Himself", but that originally there was a co-eternal "Duality", God and the Word, rather than a "Trinity".
* [[Swedenborgianism]] holds that the Trinity exists in one person, the Lord God Jesus Christ. The Father, the being or soul of God, was born into the world and put on a body from [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]]. Throughout his life, Jesus put away all human desires and tendencies until he was completely divine. After his resurrection, he influences the world through the Holy Spirit, which is his activity. In this view, Jesus Christ is the one God; the Father as to his soul, the Son as to his body, and the Holy Spirit as to his activity in the world. This view is very similar in many ways to Sabellianism, Modalism, Oneness, or Jesus Only beliefs.
* Numerous [[Unitarianism#Modern Christian Unitarian organizations|Unitarian Christian organizations]] exist around the world, the oldest of which is the [[Unitarian Church of Transylvania]]. An [[umbrella organization]] for these groups is the [[International Council of Unitarians and Universalists]], though only some members and affiliates of that body consider themselves exclusively or predominantly Christian. In the United States, "Unitarian" often refers to members and congregations within the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]] (UUA), a non-Christian group formed in 1961 from the merger of the [[American Unitarian Association]] with the [[Universalist Church of America]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uuworld.org/articles/stevenson-2017-ware-lecture|title=Bryan Stevenson weaves story, policy in 2017 Ware Lecture|last=McCardle, Elaine and Kenny Wiley|date=2017-06-28|website=UU World|access-date=2019-09-17|quote=Stevenson referred to the UU faith's members repeatedly as "Universalists," which caught the attention of several social media users. Unitarian Universalists are more commonly referred to colloquially as "Unitarians."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-03-30-8601230398-story.html|title=Unitarians Making Peace with Easter |last=Buursma|first=Bruce|date=1986-03-30|website=[[Chicago Tribune]]|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-17}}</ref> Though both of these predecessor groups were originally Christian, the UUA does not have a shared creed and does not identify as a Christian Unitarian organization.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe|title=Beliefs & Principles|last=Unitarian Universalist Association|date=9 February 2015|website=uua.org|access-date=2019-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/beliefs/christianity|title=Christian Unitarian Universalists|last=Unitarian Universalist Association|date=25 November 2014|website=uua.org|access-date=2019-09-17|quote=Some of our UU congregations are Christian in orientation, worshipping regularly with the New Testament, offering Communion, and celebrating Christian holidays throughout the year. All of our congregations welcome people with Christian backgrounds and beliefs.}}</ref>