Interfaith Families Welcome

A family of four, two parents and two teen children, smile for a selfie.

In Unitarian Universalism, we accept you for who and what you are. Our family, like your family, includes people of many religious backgrounds and beliefs.

Different beliefs don’t divide us—instead, they make us strong. Unitarian Universalism celebrates multi-faith families. Buddhist-Jewish, Atheist-Christian, Hindu-Muslim, Catholic-Methodist, Agnostic-Modern Pagan, Taoist-Humanist, and more. Whatever faiths and perspectives are part of your family, we welcome you and your multilayered identity.

"We've found a place where it's okay for me to be kind of atheist and kind of Muslim, where it's okay for my family to be a little confused, and where we can bring the mish-mash of cultures and traditions that is my family. Here we can unify two different worlds into a safe space that we can all be a part of." —Aneesa (from a UU Muslim-Southern Baptist family)

Religiously progressive and radically inclusive, we want to know who you are and what matters most to you. We go beyond simply respecting religious diversity, we delve into it, by drawing on six diverse Sources for inspiration and teaching. We study many faiths and honorthe holidays of many faith traditions.

We give you tools for building a strong family that's diverse in faith. Unitarian Universalist (UU) children and youth develop their beliefs and practices in conversation with their families and their community, beliefs that express the loving ethical core found in our seven Principles.

"Here we have found a place to grow in faith, respect, and love—a place that cherishes the wisdom and holidays of our ancestors and our own progressive pluralistic beliefs." —Aisha & Wayne (from a UU Jewish-Muslim family)

"Our first UU service was a Coming-of-Age ceremony for youth. To see these articulate young people speaking so beautifully about their beliefs, which all differed yet all received the same support and applause, moved us. From that point on it is what we wanted for our kids and us." —Michael & Crystal (from a UU Baptist-Catholic family)

In our congregations, we’re on a supported search for personal truth—one that makes us braver, more curious, and more compassionate throughout our lifetimes. Interfaith, multifaith, mono-faith, no-faith… all are welcome, respected, and celebrated. We invite you to visit us. Find out where we are near you.

I can bring my atheist mother here and my Catholic ex-husband and my modern orthodox-trained Jewish children. And we're just all loved. —Jodi, in Voices of a Liberal Faith

Learn More

Building Bridges, a program for middle school youth, engages participants in learning about many religions. The year-long class includes field trips to many houses of worship and discussions with people of many faiths.

Coming-of-Age, a program for teens, is our UU rite of passage, like Christian Confirmation and Jewish Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Through a year-long program, young people develop their own sense of faith. At the end of the year, they write and deliver a credo statement they’ve written about their values and beliefs.

A Chorus of Faiths: Unitarian Universalists as Interfaith Leaders. Part of a joint venture of the UUA and the Interfaith Youth Core (founded by Eboo Patel) these sessions develop high school youth as interfaith leaders.

Coming of Age Handbook for Congregations

By Sarah Gibb Millspaugh

From inSpirit: The UU Book and Gift Shop

Comprehensive guidebook for religious educators of adolescents...

Buy This Book

A person holds the book Being Both against their chest.

From our Beacon Press: Susan Katz-Miller's Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family is at once a rousing declaration of the benefits of celebrating two religions, and a blueprint for interfaith families who are seeking guidance and community support.

A family of two dads, a toddler son, and a baby daughter sit on a porch together.

We are people of many backgrounds and beliefs: we welcome your whole family.

A couple in colorful clothes poses after their wedding.

Our custom-made weddings reflect your families' faiths and your unique personalities.

Kids react with joy and surprise during a UU religious education class.

A group shot of a congregation, smiling and waving on their lawn.