United Church of Christ
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' theological and socio-political stances are often very different from those of its predecessors.
This article is about the United States denomination known as "United Church of Christ". For other merged denominations, see United and uniting churches. For other churches that have the words "Church" and "Christ" in their name, see Church of Christ (disambiguation).United Church of Christ
Mix of Congregational and Presbyterian
Karen Georgia Thompson
United States
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
June 25, 1957[1]
4,603 (2022)
712,296 (2022)
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 along with the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches, were themselves the result of earlier unions, 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 2015, Pew Research estimated that 0.4 percent, or 1 million adult adherents, of the U.S. population self-identified with the United Church of Christ.[8]
The UCC maintains full communion with other Protestant denominations. Many of its congregations choose to 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]
Activities[edit]
Civil Rights Movement[edit]
Everett Parker of the UCC Office of Communication, at the request of Martin Luther King Jr., organized UCC churches during 1959 against television stations in the Southern United States that were imposing news blackouts of information pertaining to the then growing Civil Rights Movement. The UCC later won a lawsuit that resulted in a federal court decision that the broadcast air waves are public, not private, property. That led toward the proliferation of people of color in television studios and newsrooms.[41]
Social activism[edit]
The UCC national body has been active in numerous traditionally liberal social causes, including support for abortion rights,[42] the United Farm Workers, and the Wilmington Ten.[14]
Barack Obama and the UCC[edit]
A controversy arose over former U.S. president Barack Obama speaking at UCC gatherings, but the IRS found that the UCC had adhered to the prohibition against churches campaigning for political candidates.
In 2007, longtime UCC member Barack Obama (then a Democratic presidential candidate) spoke at the UCC's Iowa Conference meeting and at the General Synod 26.[66] A complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service alleged that the UCC promoted Obama's candidacy by having him speak at those meetings.[67]
Barry Lynn, an ordained UCC minister and the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, stated that although he personally would not have invited a presidential candidate to speak at the meetings, he believed "the Internal Revenue Service permits this to happen."[68] The church had consulted lawyers prior to the event to make sure they were following the law and had instructed those in attendance that no Obama campaign material would be allowed in the meeting. Nevertheless, in February 2008, the IRS sent a letter to the church stating that it was launching an inquiry into the matter.[69]
On February 27, 2008, in an open letter to UCC members, Rev. John H. Thomas announced the creation of The UCC Legal Fund, to aid in the denomination's defense against the IRS.[70] While the denomination expected legal expenses to surpass six figures, it halted donations after raising $59,564 in less than a week.
In May 2008, the IRS issued a letter that stated that the UCC had taken appropriate steps and that the denomination's tax status was not in jeopardy.[71]
Membership[edit]
At the time of its formation, the UCC had over 2 million members in nearly 7,000 churches.[72] The denomination has suffered a 44 percent loss in membership since the mid-1960s.[73] By 1980, membership was at about 1.7 million and by the turn of the century had dropped to 1.3 million.[72] In 2006, the UCC had roughly 1.2 million members in 5,452 churches.[72] According to its 2008 annual report, the United Church of Christ had about 1.1 million members in about 5,300 local congregations.[74] However the 2010 annual report showed a decline of 31,000 members and a loss of 33 congregations since then. The decline in number of congregations continued through 2011, as the 2011 Annual Report shows 5,100 member churches.[75] As of the 2014 Annual Yearbook of the UCC, membership is listed as 979,239 members in 5,154 local churches. According to the 2023 report for 2022 statistics, the membership had declined to 712,296 members in 4,603 congregations.[3] In the prior decade, from 2012 to 2022, the denomination had dropped from about 998,906 to 712,296 members, an almost 29% decline in a decade.[3]
Membership is concentrated primarily in the Northeast and Midwest. Pennsylvania, a bastion of the German Reformed tradition, has the largest number of members and churches. As of 2000, the state had over 700 congregations and over 200,000 members.[76] The highest membership rates are in the states of Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, situated in the heartland of the American Congregationalist movement.[76]
The United Church of Christ among Christian churches has a highly educated membership, with 46% of members holding graduate or post-graduate degrees. Only Presbyterians (47%), Episcopalians (56%), and Anglicans (60%) ranked higher.[77] The church also claims a disproportionate share of high-income earners.[78]