‘Our Faith Is Needed’: UUA Membership Holds Steady, New Data Report Reveals

In an age when 80 percent of U.S. adults say religion’s role in American life is shrinking , a new data report from the Unitarian Universalist Association shows steady membership and growing religious education attendance.

Overall membership numbers in the UUA remained about the same in 2023 compared to the year before, according to the 2024 UUA Certification Report released on Friday by the Association. In 2023, there were 1,081 total UU congregations and communities within the UUA: 1,000 congregations, 26 emerging congregations, 34 covenanting communities, and 21 international congregations and communities, according to the report. That total number is only four less than in 2022.

“I actually think that’s incredibly promising for us, because given the precipitous decline in pretty much all mainline denominations, staying steady is a reflection of the fact that our faith is needed and is resonating with people,” said Rev. Ashley Horan, the UUA’s vice president for Programs and Ministries.

One of the most striking results in the report was that participation in religious education programs rose by 16 percent over the past year, the first increase in a decade. Horan attributes that in part to emergence from the “precipitous decline” in religious education that occurred during the pandemic, when programming was online only. She also credited the innovative efforts of religious educators, “who are at the cutting edge of what our faith is, so I’m not surprised, if they are trying new things, that it’s working.” She said it will be important to see whether the upward trend continues over the next few years.

Certification is an annual process required of all member congregations. The report compiles data the congregations submit about their membership numbers, finances, and more. Among other things, the data helps determine how many voting delegates a congregation is entitled to have at General Assembly.

This year, the UUA is engaging with the data in a more transparent way, including releasing the full report online so that the Association, congregations, and other partners can engage with it as a tool in determining how best to further the values of the faith. Every year, fifty to sixty congregations fail to be certified because they do not submit their information to the UUA.

“We hope that this effort to be more transparent and conversational about the data helps to encourage more universal certification among our congregations in 2025,” said Nancy McDonald Ladd, the UUA’s director of Communications and Public Ministry.

The data in the 2024 report was collected in January and February 2024, and the information therein pertains to the year 2023. There are data points on a variety of issues, including demographics of membership and staff, and how much conflict congregations are experiencing, and the UUA hopes congregations will engage with the report to inform decision-making about priorities and goals.

Half of congregations saw membership growth in 2023, while the other half saw a decline, according to the report. “I think what that tells us is that we have really good examples of people who are doing [the work] in inspiring, exciting ways in their contexts,” Horan said. She said she is eager to dive deeper into the stories of successful congregations, including analyzing such factors as where they are located, what kinds of leadership structure they use, and what worship styles they offer.

“We don’t, as a denomination, rely heavily on data, but I think understanding data is a springboard from which to begin conversations and get more information about what is really happening, and also uncover places where we don’t know what’s going on,” Horan said. “What does it tell us about what is most urgent and important, both the challenges and the opportunities?” Horan views the data as suggesting a “huge opportunity for experimenting with new forms of worship, of what membership means and looks like, of ministries with children and youth and young adults.”

There was also information about finances: The number of individual and family pledges decreased by 24 percent over the past ten years, but average pledges were up 43 percent in that same period, resulting in a small increase in overall pledge income. And UU congregational endowments and reserves are up 44 percent from 2016.

“I want to celebrate the generosity of the folks who’ve been able to and have shown up to buoy our congregations during the last several years of global pandemic and crisis,” Horan said. The data raises interesting questions that beg further analysis, she said. “We have a real sense of budgetary crisis in our congregations that is not actually matched by the reality of our statistics . . . I think there’s an abundance of resources and we need to think creatively about how we can use them and what we are going to prioritize with them.”