Seeds for the Religious Education Credentialing Program (RECP) were planted at Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) conferences in the late 1990’s. A group of professionals had gathered to grapple with differences in skill, training, and congregational expectations among religious educators. What came out of those conversations was a desire to articulate professional standards.

In 2001, the LREDA Task Force on Professional Standards presented a proposal for a UUA-integrated Program to LREDA leaders and the UUA Religious Education Department. A joint LREDA/UUA Task Force was formed and, the following year, this Joint Task Force presented to the UUA Board. The new position of RE Credentialing Director was created in the Ministries and Professional Leadership Staff Group. By 2004, the first credentials were awarded and LREDA established the LREDA Committee on Mentoring.

Between 2004 and 2008, a variety of adjustments and improvements were introduced. In 2009, substantial re-visioning took place, primarily to make the RECP more flexible. Recognizing that the frequent changes in requirements during the Program’s early years had been hard on some candidates, the Religious Education Credentialing Committee (RECC) agreed in 2009 that no additional changes would be made for five years.

In 2014, the revised Program Plan was introduced, which featured a streamlined portfolio format, an updated resource list, forms and documents revised for clarity and user-friendliness, and renewed requirements designed to meet the current and emerging needs of professionals and congregations. The 2014 Program Plan covered both what were then called the Credentialed and Master levels, while the Associate level remained unchanged using the 2009 Program Plan.

A revised 2017 Program Plan covered all three levels of the Program, then named Associate, Credentialed, and Master level, with some changes in competencies and required learning experiences. The changes approved by the RECC in April 2018 include a Concurrent then-named Credentialed/Master Level path and locations and dates for future RECC meetings.

The RECC updated the Resource List in 2019 and in 2021, the Program Plan was moved to this online book format on UUA.org. In 2022, the RECC approved another updated Resource List and contracted with a consulting firm to increase inclusivity and accessibility in the program, adopting a new Mission, Vision, and Values Statement. In 2023, the RECC — with input from many invested parties — changed the credentialing level names to Skilled, Advanced, and Leadership Levels to reflect the anti-racist learnings of the time.